The Tetris Company pushes back on Trump's Build the Wall parody game

The Tetris Company has publicly rebuked the US government after a Trump administration-published parody game called Build the Wall appeared online last week. The company has also hinted it may pursue legal action.

Build the Wall has players stacking bricks along "the Southern border" to fend off waves of invading zombies — a mechanic that leans on Tetris's block-stacking format but ditches the line-clearing rules. Instead of clearing rows, same-colored blocks defeat matching undead enemies. The game launched alongside a batch of other pro-Trump propaganda games riffing on Snake and Flappy Bird, and several of those titles include spoofed versions of Sony, Nintendo, and Xbox console logo screens. None of the three platform holders have commented yet.

The Tetris Company's response, while firm in its disapproval, was notably measured in tone — the company invoked "the power of connection" in its public statement rather than leading with legal threats. That said, the hint at potential litigation is real, and the Tetris brand has a long history of aggressively protecting its IP; the company has pursued legal action over unlicensed Tetris clones before.

Whether the US government's use of the Tetris format crosses the line into actionable infringement remains to be seen. Sony, Nintendo, and Xbox have so far stayed quiet despite their branding also appearing in the propaganda game batch.