NYT’s Crossplay Hits 1 Million Downloads: What That Means for Word-Game Fans

Crossplay, The New York Times’ new multiplayer word game, just crossed a major milestone—over 1 million downloads on mobile since its launch on January 20, 2026. For word-game enthusiasts, this is more than just a number. It signals NYT stepping out of its single-player puzzle roots and entering the competitive word-gaming arena. What does this mean for the players, the competition, and the future of games under the NYT umbrella?

From Solitary Puzzles to Face-Offs

NYT has long built its reputation on solitary puzzles: crosswords, Wordle, Connections, and the logic games that invite daily routines. In 2025 alone, its diverse game catalogue was played over 11.2 billion times, with Wordle accounting for around 4.2 billion plays and Connections about 1.6 billion. These daily rituals are beloved—but limited in interactivity. Enter Crossplay, NYT’s first head-to-head word game: opponents build words in turns on a shared board, racing to win once all tiles are used. It’s scrabble-adjacent fun with no ads and fewer freemium hooks, designed for those craving real competition.

Winning Heads-Up with Crossplay

In its first few weeks, Crossplay has already vaulted past one million downloads—a strong showing given NYT’s usual slow-burn puzzle style. The game features matches against friends, skill-based matchmaking, and AI opponents; post-game analysis comes courtesy of Cross Bot. On iPhones, it’s rated 4.8/5 with over 60,000 reviews, underlining early satisfaction. Users share average scores—many hover around 300-400 points in casual matches. Despite this, some Android users report performance issues—crashes, lagging, and interface quirks—that NYT is working to patch.

The Broader Business Move

Publishers everywhere are doubling down on interactive content, and NYT is no exception. Gaming is no longer just a feature—it’s core to its digital product strategy. Games like Wordle and Connections are already pulling in billions of sessions annually. Meanwhile, Crossplay’s launch increases the NYT Games universe to 11 active titles, while its subscription base reached 12.33 million digital subscribers by September 2025. July through December 2025 represented a record revenue period for NYT Games—with December alone bringing in an estimated $7.8 million. Crossplay’s arrival isn’t just about gameplay—it’s about bolstering engagement, subscriptions, and strengthening NYT’s digital-first identity.

Challenges & What’s Next

Even with a million downloads, Crossplay faces growing pains. Android stability remains uneven; some players on Reddit report bugs ranging from graphic glitches to being unable to find matches with humans. The subscription model—or the need to link to a NYT account to preserve stats and cross-device progress—may also limit adoption among casual players. And it competes with established giants such as Words With Friends and Scrabble Go: in 2025, those apps pulled in millions more installs and tens of millions in revenue.

For Fans, What Should You Know?

• If you enjoy turn-based word-board games without the ad blitz and microtransaction maze, Crossplay offers a polished alternative.
• Pay attention to device compatibility: Android users seem most affected by performance hiccups right now.
• A NYT account boosts the experience—keeping your stats, enabling cross-platform play, preserving history.
• With million-plus downloads already, the player base is solidifying, which means finding matches with real opponents will get easier.

NYT’s Crossplay isn’t just a new game—it’s a declaration of intent: that NYT isn’t just about solo puzzle fans, it's about building a community of players who want to play, compete, and stay engaged.

For fans of word games, this milestone is promising. Crossplay isn't perfect yet, but it’s a big step toward a more social, strategic, and satisfying word-gaming world. The next few months will show whether it can dethrone its rivals or simply make them sharper.