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Spotify acquires Heardle, the music game inspired by Wordle

Heardle players will be able to continue playing as usual following the acquisition.

Donovan Erskine

July 12, 2022 9:45 AM

Image: Spotify

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Heardle was just one in a long series of Wordle clones to hit the internet over the past year. Tasking players with identifying a song by listening to short snippets, it’s arguably one of the most popular Wordle-likes out there. Just like Wordle before it, Heardle has now been purchased by a major company. Music streaming platform Spotify has acquired music guessing game Heardle.

Spotify announced its acquisition of Heardle in a news release on its website earlier today. The company sees Heardle as not only a fun trivia game, but an opportunity to discover new music and expand your taste. Fans of Heardle will be able to continue playing the game on its website. Now, they’ll be able to transition over to Spotify to enjoy the full song after they’ve finished playing.

“We are always looking for innovative and playful ways to enhance music discovery and help artists reach new fans,” commented Jeremy Erlich, Global Head of Music, Spotify. “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.”

This move echoes what happened to Wordle, the massively popular word game that took the internet by storm earlier this year and served as the inspiration behind Heardle. At the height of its success, Wordle was acquired by The New York Times. Now, Heardle will join the Spotify family. Following the acquisition, Spotify plans to expand Heardle to be available in additional countries and languages. For more on Wordle, Heardle, and the never-ending tree of tree of clones, stick with us here on Shacknews.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_