Spotify has announced the shutdown of Heardle, the popular song-guessing game it acquired last summer. The message on the Heardle webpage reads, “Thanks for playing Heardle, but unfortunately we have to say goodbye. From May 5th, Heardle will no longer be available.”
Heardle became popular last year as a clone of the massively successful game Wordle. The game’s makers sold it to Spotify in July, but its popularity was already on the decline. Third-party data suggests that Heardle reached a high of 69 million monthly visitors last March, but just before the deal with Spotify was announced, the number had dipped to 41 million.
Players who want to keep a record of their stats should take a screenshot before May 4th. The stats will no longer be available after the shutdown.
Heardle’s shutdown comes in contrast to the continued success of Wordle, which is owned by The New York Times. Tens of millions of people still play the game each week, according to the company.
Spotify has not provided a reason for Heardle’s shutdown. It is unclear whether the company plans to introduce a replacement game or feature in the future.
