for what it's worth, I don't think the NYT will "ruin" Worlde. If they roll it into the NYT website there will already be ads and subscription solicitations all around it as part of the normal page UI. The game itself can still be free and relatively uncluttered. I doubt the overall experience will change much and they'll probably make their "low seven figures" back in a relatively short time.

I'm over Worlde, personally. I started when it first showed up on hn a few weeks ago and stopped recently. It was fun, it was a little daily thing. but it's an easy game and I've moved on