White House Tetris clone disappears days after copyright warning

Build the Wall, a Tetris-inspired game, is no longer available in the White House’s online arcade. Its disappearance followed a public warning from The Tetris Company about unauthorized use of its intellectual property.

The exact removal time is unknown. The Wayback Machine shows that the game was still online around 9 p.m. ET on September 7; its absence was noticed by This Week in Video Games.

The game and the rights holder’s response

Build the Wall used falling blocks to depict a wall intended to keep migrants out. The Tetris Company said it had not been involved in making the game and warned that it takes copyright infringement seriously.

In an Instagram post, the company also said it believed in bringing people together rather than dividing them. The game portrayed Mexicans, described in it as “the coming horde,” being kept from entering the United States.

Other properties used by the White House

The online arcade contained five games promoting elements of US President Donald Trump’s agenda. White House posts have also prominently featured Halo, Destiny 2, Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto and Pokémon, as well as Xbox, Nintendo and Sega logos.

The Pokémon Company said it had not authorized the use of its characters. Japan’s Foreign Ministry has reportedly asked the US government privately to stop using them.

No confirmed connection has been established between The Tetris Company’s warning and the game’s removal. The article’s author contacted the company and the White House for comment, but no responses were included in the source.