Spotify is shutting down Heardle less than a year after it bought the game
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Do you hear what I hear? Certainly not a Wordle-inspired music guessing game because, as of May 5, Spotify is shutting down Heardle.
When you log on to play Heardle, you're faced with the devastating announcement: "Heardle is going away on May 5th."
"Thanks for playing Heardle, but unfortunately we have to say goodbye. From May 5th, Heardle will no longer be available," the announcement popup reads, disappointing fans even more than the repeat Imagine Dragons songs it played. "If you have stats that you would like to save, make sure you go to your stats and take a screenshot by May 4th. It won't be possible to access them after May 4th."
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Heardle is one of the many games that launched to success after the Wordle boom. To play, users listen to the intro of a song and have six tries to guess artist and title that Heardle plays. Spotify acquired Heardle last July but monthly visitors quickly began to drop, according to TechCrunch. Just under a year after its acquisition, Spotify is getting rid of the app — a decision was made so that Spotify could focus on music discovery.
It's frustrating, although not entirely unfamiliar, for a company like Spotify to buy a game people are enjoying only to destroy it when it doesn't match up with its other goals. According to Engadget, there won't be any layoffs as a result of the closure.
Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to today's Wordle.
Christianna Silva is a senior culture reporter covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on the intersection of social media, politics, and the economic systems that govern us. Since joining Mashable in 2021, they have reported extensively on meme creators, content moderation, and the nature of online creation under capitalism.
Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow her on Bluesky @christiannaj.bsky.social and Instagram @christianna_j.
