Daily word game Wordle will reportedly start to include in-game advertisements on Tuesday, with the first advertiser Rimowa, the high-end luggage brand.
After the app was purchased by The New York Times earlier this year, the company told fans the game would remain free but in-app ads were coming.
According to Axios, a 20-year decline in ad revenue has pushed The New York Times to develop a new strategy to integrate advertising in several non-news products starting with Wordle’s 300,000 daily players.
“We are going to pilot two ad formats,” Emelie De Vitis, chief marketing officer of Rimowa, told AdAge, which will include a traditional display ad format and a more interactive feature.
Ads will only run on desktop versions of the game, according to a New York Times spokesman.
Wordle will not include sponsored words and advertisers will have no control or say over the game itself, the spokesman added.
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