The White House took down a browser-based arcade game styled after Tetris called “Build The Wall” following objections from The Tetris Company regarding intellectual property rights. The game’s mechanics involved stacking blocks to construct a wall structure as a border protection measure. The removal came days after the official Tetris account posted on X stating the company was uninvolved in the game’s creation and took copyright violations seriously.
The Tetris Company issued a statement emphasizing its values around connection and unity rather than division. The firm has a documented history of pursuing copyright cases, having settled with the creators of the iPhone game Mino in 2012 over alleged copying of its distinctive visual style and gameplay elements.
Four additional arcade games remain on the White House website’s mini-game section. One titled “Flappy Bill” mimics the viral Flappy Bird game but features a bald eagle navigating around National Mall monuments. Another game called Rio Run borrows mechanics from the classic Snake game, with players patrolling a river boundary and a counter labeled “Deported” tracking caught individuals.
The arcade games have drawn criticism from elected officials. A Connecticut Democratic state senator questioned the prioritization of gaming content over issues like heating oil prices. The gaming-themed content reflects a broader pattern of the Trump administration incorporating video game culture into its social media political messaging, including previous incidents involving AI-generated imagery styled after the Halo video game series and unauthorized use of Pokémon characters in campaign materials. Both The Pokémon Company International and the voice actor for Halo’s protagonist have previously objected to their intellectual property being used in White House content.
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