White House removes Tetris-inspired Arcade game after copyright warning

• The company warned that it takes copyright infringement seriously.
• “Build the Wall” was one of five political games launched by the White House.
• The game was removed after The Tetris Company publicly responded to its launch.

The White House has removed a Tetris-inspired game from its online Arcade after The Tetris Company said it was not involved in the game’s creation.

The game, called “Build the Wall”, was launched last week alongside four other titles on the White House website as part of the Trump Administration’s push to promote its policies through popular culture.

Players were tasked with stacking blocks to build a wall to “protect the border from the coming horde”, using a gameplay concept inspired by the decades-old Tetris formula.

The Tetris Company responded to the game’s launch by clarifying that it had no involvement in “Build the Wall” and warned that it takes copyright infringement seriously.

“At Tetris we believe in the power of connection and bringing people together, not dividing them," the company wrote in a post. “To our fans everywhere: we love you, we see you and we're grateful to have you in our community."

Arcade lineup

The game was subsequently removed from the White House’s Arcade, although the other titles remain available.

The White House Arcade launched with five games based on the administration’s political agenda including Flappy Bill, Build The Wall (now removed), Rio Run, Supply Line and Trump Savings Tycoon. A sixth game is also listed as coming soon.

PocketGamer.biz previously reported on the launch of the White House Arcade games as part of our new release roundup.