The New York Times Games is part of a concerted effort by the paper to raise its digital subscription as its print-based sales dwindle.

[2][3] Since its launch, NYT Games has reached viral popularity and has become one of the main revenue drivers for The New York Times.

[8] According to one member of staff, "The half joke that is repeated internally is that The New York Times is now a gaming company that also happens to offer news.

[12] The New York Times has used video games as part of its journalistic efforts, among the first publications to do so,[13] contributing to an increase in Internet traffic;[14] In the late 1990s and early 2000s, The New York Times began offering its newspaper online, and along with it the crossword puzzles, allowing readers to solve puzzles on their computers.

[18] In January 2022, The New York Times Company acquired Wordle, a word game developed by Josh Wardle in 2021, at a valuation in the "low-seven figures".

[34] In September 2024, The Athletic, in partnership with The New York Times Games, launched a sports edition of Connections in beta.

[37] The Crossword The Mini Crossword Spelling Bee Wordle Strands Connections Letter Boxed Tiles Sudoku Connections: Sports Edition Zorse Digits Vertex Since its inception, The New York Times Games' player base has grown rapidly.

Some editors get tagged frequently on Twitter by their game's "die-hard" fan base, albeit sometimes negatively due to complaints about the day's puzzle construction itself.

[3] According to one member of staff, "The half joke that is repeated internally is that The New York Times is now a gaming company that also happens to offer news," as reportedly "[p]eople who engage with both news and games on any given week have the best long-term subscriber retention of any product combination".