Spotify to acquire Heardle, and there goes the neighbourhood

If you’re like me and tend to turn left when the herd turns right, you’ve probably tried Wordle a few times at best and wondered what the hype is all about. Sure, the mechanics are engaging enough, but aren’t there plenty of word games out there already designed to engage and delight?

Perhaps spurred on by the New York Times decision to snap up the original and make it part of the family, a decision that’s brought 10s of millions of new users to the platform, Wordle variants began their surge in popularity as well, and it didn’t take long for me to discover Heardle, a fun iteration that involves music and music trivia instead of wordplay.

Perhaps also spurred on by those 10s of millions of numbers posted by The New York Times, Spotify, the premium streaming music service you can either love to hate or hate to love, has announced that it’s acquired my beloved Heardle.

According to the company, while, “the look and feel of the game will stay the same, and it’ll remain free to play for everyone,” upon checking in with my daily, it soon became readily apparent that something was off, something was wrong.

A quick flash of something, something, and my stats were gone.

Crisis, I realise, but still. I know it’s just a game, but Spotify, of all players, should get the pride and joy that today’s online gamers, regardless of genre, can place in their accomplishments. As for a launch, I’m going to go ahead and file this one directly under fail.

And apparently, I’m not alone

Guess I'm done playing #Heardle - it was just acquired by #Spotify. I lost my game history, and the link to get it back only exists for a microsecond. Also the skip function is now super glitchy, making the game unplayable. Nice while it lasted...https://t.co/KvOv28sW9H

— Marissa DeWeese (@MarissaDeweese) July 12, 2022

According to Spotify’s Jeremy Erlich, “We are always looking for innovative and playful ways to enhance music discovery and help artists reach new fans. Heardle has proven to be a really fun way to connect millions of fans with songs they know and love and with new songs . . . and a way to compete with their friends as to who has the best musical knowledge. Since its debut, the game has quickly built a loyal following, and it aligns with our plans to deepen interactivity across the Spotify ecosystem.”

For the sake of us all, let’s hope that this “deepen(ing) of interactivity” is introduced a wee bit better than the obliteration of any past players’ work.

While The New York Times reported paying, “in the low seven figures” for Wordle, Spotify has been tight-lipped about the financials surrounding the deal.