The White House has removed “Build The Wall,” a Tetris-style arcade game, from its website after The Tetris Company raised concerns about the game’s similarities to the popular block-stacking game.
“Build The Wall” challenged players to stack blocks to construct walls and “secure the border.” It was one of five arcade-style games featured in the White House website’s online games section.
On September 4, the official Tetris account on X posted, external that The Tetris Company was “not involved in the production” of the game and “takes copyright infringement very seriously.”
The White House did not respond to the BBC’s requests for comment and has not given an official explanation for removing the game.
“At Tetris, we believe in the power of connecting and uniting people, not dividing them,” the company said in its initial response to the game.
“To all our fans around the world: We love you, we see you, and we appreciate having you in our community.”
The Tetris Company has previously taken legal action over alleged copyright infringement. In 2012, it reached an undisclosed settlement with the makers of the iPhone game Mino, which was accused of copying the look and feel of the classic block-stacking game.
Four other arcade games remain available in the minigames section of the White House website.
One of them, “Flappy Bill,” is a clone of the 2013 hit Flappy Bird. Players control bald eagles while avoiding monuments on the National Mall.
Another game, “Rio Run,” asks players to “patrol a line along a river” in gameplay reminiscent of the classic mobile game Snake.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk