Tetris Company disavows White House game ‘Build the Wall’
The company says it did not authorise or license the Tetris brand or intellectual property for the immigration-themed game.
The Tetris Company has disavowed “Build the Wall”, an arcade-style game hosted on the White House website, saying it was not involved in the title’s creation and did not authorise or license the Tetris brand or intellectual property.
Engadget reported that the game is one of six arcade titles released by the White House. It asks players to stack falling bricks into a growing wall near an unspecified “Southern Border”, with the aim of keeping out an approaching “zombie horde”.
The game resembles Tetris, but completed lines do not disappear. Instead, the wall continues to grow as players slot the bricks into place.
In a statement posted to Instagram and reiterated to Engadget, The Tetris Company said it takes copyright infringement seriously and is reviewing the matter. The company also said Tetris has brought people together across generations and cultures for more than 40 years, with the objective of stacking blocks to clear lines.
The company’s statement does not amount to a reported legal finding, and the supplied material contains no report of legal action. The White House has also hosted other browser-based games, including “Rio Run”, “Flappy Bill” and “Trump Savings Tycoon”, although the source material is unclear on the collection’s precise size.
