The White House's attempt to turn Tetris into an anti-immigration game appears to have hit a wall. A few days ago, the US administration launched Arcade.gov with a series of low-budget video games heavily based on existing titles like Tetris, Snake and Flappy Bird.
In an apparent disregard for intellectual property rules (and previous complaints from Japan over unauthorised use of Nintendo IPs like Mario), it even used the Pac-Man, Xbox and Sega logos to promote the games. Alas, less than a week later, one title has been removed, leaving only four of the original five. It seems that the Tetris Company's complaint have carried weight.
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/Fu02khRpT3September 4, 2026
When the White House launched Arcade.gov last Wednesday, some people wondered if it was intentionally trying to get sued. Sure enough, The Tetris Company published a statement on its account on X the very next day. It clarified that it was not involved in the creation of the 'Build the Wall' game, and added: "P.P.S. We take copyright infringement very seriously".
Build the Wall was basically Tetris but with a xenophobic back story and some pretty shoddy programming. “Protect the border from the coming horde" the tagline wrote. But the game didn't work properly.
How the fuck do you manage to fuck up a Tetris clone pic.twitter.com/n0kNUMwUpfSeptember 4, 2026
Ok, I built a wall all the way to the top and I lost!You’ve gotta fix that one 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/Y2deagO9G6September 4, 2026
The games that remain on the site include 'Rio Run', a grim reimagining of Snakes where border czar Tom Homan leads a line of illegal immigrants in orange jumpsuits, and Duck Hunt-like 'Trump Savings Tycoon', whose description says "Fill your Kids' Trump Accounts".
Despite the 'America first' rhetoric, the White House social media team seems to have a bit of an obsession with Japanese video game and anime characters. Previous examples include using the Pokémon theme on footage of ICE raids. But its disregard for intellectual property is likely to be worrying American companies too due to its AI-driven free for all.
While big game developers like Nintendo have a reputation for being litigious, most have adopted a surprisingly cowardly silence so far, perhaps worried about getting dragged into debates around politics. Tetris appears to have shown that a company can take a stance and make the message hit home.
