Heardle, the name-that-tune game inspired by the Wordle craze, is being dropped by Spotify less than a year after the music-streaming giant acquired it.
“After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to say goodbye to Heardle," Spotify said Saturday in a statement. A similar announcement was posted on the Heardle homepage.
First appearing in February 2022 amid a surge of games that used the format of Wordle, which the New York Times bought in January of that year, Heardle plays fleeting moments of a song and challenges users to see how quickly they can guess it. Saturday's mystery song was (spoiler alert) 1998's “Why Don't You Get a Job” by the Offspring.
After Spotify bought Heardle in July, users could go from revealing the song to playing it on the app. That sort of music discovery, or rediscovery, was Spotify's intention in acquiring the game from its creators, according to the blog post announcing the acquisition.
But the statement on the game's end said Spotify plans to "focus our efforts on other features for music discovery.”
The company did not give further details on why it was ending the game, and it's not clear whether Heardle may continue life elsewhere. Spotify did not identify the apparently publicity-shy creator and seller when it announced the purchase.
Variety identified the man as a “London-based web and app designer” in a May 2020 interview, but he declined to be identified further.
Direct deposit delays due to a human error that happened last week have resulted in some customers still not receiving their paychecks.
Nestle is reportedly investing $100 million in food delivery startup Wonder Group.
Arturo Béjar testified before a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday about social media and the teen mental health crisis, hoping to shed light on how Meta executives, including Zuckerberg, knew about the harms Instagram was causing but chose not to make meaningful changes to address them.
Nike is suing two of its competitors for alleged patent infringement.
Uber missed analysts' projections for earnings per share and revenue this past quarter. Cheddar News takes a closer look at the numbers and explains what to expect for the rest of the fiscal year.
Cheddar News breaks down some of the top business stories to look out for, including WeWork's bankruptcy filing and fast-fashion retailer Shein reportedly expecting a $90 million valuation upon its market debut. Plus, a new EV truck will have a backup gas generator.
WeWork has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Bumble, the female-focused dating app, announced that Whitney Wolf Hurd, the company's founder and CEO, will step down in January.
WeWork officially has filed for bankruptcy.
With interest rates high, housing inventory low and Veterans Day just around the corner, Cheddar News took a look at how the current market is impacting those who served and continue to serve our country. Patton Gade, national director of military lending with UMortgage, explains how a VA loan works, its benefits and what's involved in the process of purchasing a home.
