Tetris Company distances itself from racist Trump game clone
The US government under Donald Trump offers a Tetris clone called Build the Wall on its website. The rights holders of the original vehemently defend themselves against political appropriation and are considering initial legal steps.
Dispute over political browser game
The White House released a collection of arcade games on its official website last week. That sounds harmless at first, but it isn’t, because some of the titles are simply racist anti-immigration propaganda. The game called Build the Wall is now causing legal tension. The Tetris Company, owner of the rights to the classic puzzle game of the same name, accuses those responsible of having copied the game principle without permission.
The company distances itself from the political messages and is considering legal action. The controversial game challenges users to build a wall on the southern US border. Falling Tetris-like blocks must be placed in such a way that they ward off fictional attackers. When the building blocks reach the top of the screen, the game ends with the display of a border breakthrough. The basic game mechanics are unmistakably based on the original from 1984, which was designed by the Soviet developer Alexei Paschitnow.
Criticism of the political context
The rights holder emphasizes in a statement that the game should connect people and not divide them. As a company spokesperson told us Variety explained that the brand had not been licensed for the political project. Copyright infringements are taken very seriously. The company had already won an important court case in 2012 that protected the appearance of video games by copyright. The publication of the browser games is part of a US government strategy to reach younger target groups through playful content.
In addition to Build the Wall, there are other clones of well-known titles on the platform, including a variant of Snake called Rio Run. It remains to be seen whether the original development studio will actually file a lawsuit. A legal dispute could force the US government to take the controversial browser game offline as soon as possible. It is possible that those responsible will remove the title from the website as a precaution to avoid a long legal dispute.
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