The White House made a "Tetris" clone. The Tetris Company was not amused.

Ars Technica News
gaming copyright-infringement intellectual-property white-house tetris political-news

Summary

The White House created a Tetris clone named 'Build the Wall,' leading to copyright concerns from The Tetris Company.

<p>An anti-immigration-themed adaptation of <em>Tetris</em> was removed from the White House website over the weekend. The move comes days after The Tetris Company <a href="https://x.com/Tetris_Official/status/2095933372019216384">disavowed any involvement</a> with the game and said that it "take[s] copyright infringement very seriously."</p> <p>The White House's "Build the Wall" game asked players to stop a "Zombie Border siege" by stacking <em>Tetris</em>-styled bricks in an attempt to "hold the line." Unlike in <em>Tetris</em>, though, the blocks in "Build the Wall" don't disappear when you complete a line, meaning each brick contributes to an impassable barrier for the pixel-art "zombies" marching in from the "Southern Border." That change makes the gameplay pretty uninteresting for anything but cheap propaganda, and it also means that every game quickly and ironically ends with a "Border Breached" message when the blocks inevitably fill up the well.</p> <p>Amerika Garcia Grewal, co-director of Texas migrant rights group <a href="https://www.fronterafederation.org/">Frontera Federation</a>, <a href="https://www-pp.afp.com/fr/node/3860121">told AFP</a> last week that the makers of the game "have lost touch with what it means to be human and care for others."</p><p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/09/the-white-house-made-a-tetris-clone-the-tetris-company-was-not-amused/">Read full article</a></p> <p><a href="https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/09/the-white-house-made-a-tetris-clone-the-tetris-company-was-not-amused/#comments">Comments</a></p>
Original Article
View Cached Full Text

Cached at: 09/08/26, 06:38 PM

# The White House made a "Tetris" clone. The Tetris Company was not amused. Source: [https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/09/the-white-house-made-a-tetris-clone-the-tetris-company-was-not-amused/](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2026/09/the-white-house-made-a-tetris-clone-the-tetris-company-was-not-amused/) ## Hey, that’s our game In[a statement on Friday](https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/tetris-company-trump-white-house-build-the-wall-game-copyright-1236851993/), a spokesperson for The Tetris Company said it was “reviewing the matter” and that the company “was not involved in the creation of ‘Build the Wall’ and did not authorize or license the Tetris brand or intellectual property for the game\.” The company reiterated that message[in a social media post Friday afternoon](https://x.com/Tetris_Official/status/2095933372019216384), writing that it “believe\[s\] in the power of connection and bringing people together, not dividing them\.” > P\.S\. The Tetris Company was not involved in the creation of ‘Build the Wall’\. P\.P\.S\. We take copyright infringement very seriously\.[pic\.twitter\.com/Fu02khRpT3](https://t.co/Fu02khRpT3) — Tetris \(@Tetris\_Official\)[September 4, 2026](https://x.com/Tetris_Official/status/2095933372019216384?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) The Tetris Company has a long history of protecting its intellectual property via[frequent](http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2010/06/google-blocks-tetris-clones-from-android-market.ars)[takedown](http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2008/08/free-tetris-clone-pulled-from-itunes-app-store/)[requests](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2008/10/tetris-co-strikes-again-another-iphone-app-clone-is-pulled/)and[legal proceedings](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/06/defining-tetris-how-courts-judge-gaming-clones/)against games that copy its gameplay and/or style\. And while unofficial*Tetris*clones[are still relatively easy to find](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/04/time-for-some-games-tetris-pong-clones-hit-pebble-smartwatch/), officially licensed versions of the game are available on everything from[the Data Zapper M7000](https://www.mobygames.com/game/125093/data-zapper-model-m7000/)to[a giant plastic chicken McNugget](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2023/05/finally-you-can-play-tetris-on-a-giant-chicken-nugget/)\. While gameplay mechanics and rules are generally not copyrightable, the look and feel of a particular expression of those rules can be protected under US copyright law\. In 2012, a Circuit Court judge[identified some basic elements of*Tetris*](https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2012/06/defining-tetris-how-courts-judge-gaming-clones/)that he said could earn this kind of “trade dress” protection when appearing in concert, including the size of the playfield and the “next piece” display\. Legal arguments aside, the White House probably wants to avoid a prolonged public fight with the makers of a beloved video game during the run\-up to federal legislative elections\. In promoting the launch of the White House Arcade site, the White House social media team[created](https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2095618246581858640/video/1?s=46)[parody](https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2095615734567100766/video/1?s=46)[videos](https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2095631909787144295)mimicking the iconic start\-up sequences from classic game consoles from Sega, Nintendo, and Sony\. The Trump administration has[previously used explicit*Halo*imagery](https://www.theguardian.com/games/2025/oct/29/why-trumps-white-house-is-using-video-game-memes-to-recruit-for-ice)to promote its military policies, a move that[resulted in pointed silence from Microsoft](https://www.polygon.com/microsoft-trump-halo-ai-meme-image-white-house-response/)\.

Similar Articles