In this photo illustration a Spotify logo seen displayed on a smartphone. (Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
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.
Simon Shuster, Senior Correspondent at TIME, discusses his recent article, how the friendship between Musk and Trump may affect US spending, “DOGE” and more.
Christa Pitts, Co-Founder & Co-CEO of The Lumistella Company shares the origins of Elf on the Shelf Plus Extraordinary Noorah's Macy's Day Parade debut!
Hayley Berg, Lead Economist at Hopper breaks down her best tips for navigating holiday travel and how to score the hottest deals on Dec. 3 - Travel Deal Tuesday
MarketWatch's Hannah Erin Lang joins Cheddar to discuss how economists are viewing Trump's immigration policy and how it will affect the job market in America.
Zack Malet, Senior Director of Business Development & Innovation, joins Cheddar to discuss ESPN experiences and how they are changing the sports travel game.
Smashburger CEO Denise Nelsen discusses how her time building the Starbucks brand gave her the tools to lead a Smashburger brand refresh, value wars, and more.
Charles Gillespie, Founder and CEO of Gambling.com Group comments on the billions of dollars in wagers placed on the outcome of the 2024 election and more.
Danny Trejo joined Cheddar to discuss his upcoming show "Mysteries Unearthed" coming to the History Channel and his most recent entrepreneurial ventures.