Right but if there is an archive, and you can play indefinitely, the concept of "today's word" loses its meaning.

And people might start going to the archive instead of the main site, seeing as it has a major features the main site doesn't. (i.e. ability to keep playing) Obviously they don't want that. They want 100% of your concentration to be on today's word. They want you to look forward to tomorrows puzzle where you can play again. Playing archived games decreases that, as you can satisfy your craving that way.

I sort of miss the archive, but at the same time I am glad it is gone. I like that feeling of "I'm done with Wordle for today" without that nagging "but I can do 100 more .... now where did my morning go?"

This is a rare case where I support a company being protective of its IP.