The New York Times shut down 'unauthorized' Wordle Archive, a website which lets users play previous puzzles: Report

• The New York Times has taken down third-party website Wordle Archive, Ars Technica reported.
• "The usage was unauthorized," said the Times, which acquired the hit Wordle game in January.

The New York Times has taken down Wordle Archive, a third-party website that allows users to play previous versions of its beloved Wordle puzzle game, Ars Technica reported.

"The usage was unauthorized, and we were in touch with them," a representative from NYT — which acquired Wordle in January — told the tech news site. "We don't plan to comment beyond that."

The Times did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Created by software engineer James Wardle as a gift for his word game-loving girlfriend during the pandemic, hit online game Wordle exploded in popularity earlier this year before The Times bought it for an "undisclosed price in the low seven figures." The game involves solving five-letter puzzles, with users playing a single new game daily.

Websites like Wordle Archive, however, let users play hundreds of previously released older puzzles.

Now, Wordle Archive only shows a message thanking players. "Sadly, The New York Times has requested that the Wordle Archive be taken down," the note added.

Some fans took to Twitter to voice their displeasure over the news, with several people saying they were now "sad."

The removal of the site spells uncertainty for other iterations of the game online, especially those that use the word Wordle in their name — such as Wordle Unlimited, which also allows users to play unlimited puzzles.

Ars Technica reported that as the Times has filed for a Wordle trademark, which protects the game's name and branding, the company can go after products which directly use the Wordle name.