Tetris Company Denies Role in White House’s ‘Build the Wall’ Clone, Warns on Copyright

The Tetris Company says it had nothing to do with “Build the Wall,” a block-stacking clone published on the White House’s new “Arcade” page, and it’s now “reviewing the matter” over possible copyright infringement. The White House launched the five-game arcade at whitehouse.gov on September 3, and the Tetris-styled entry asks players to stack bricks against a “coming horde” at the southern border.

A company spokesperson told Variety and AFP “The Tetris Company was not involved in the creation of ‘Build the Wall’ and did not authorize or license the Tetris brand or intellectual property for the game.” Asked whether legal action was on the table, the same spokesperson said “We are currently reviewing the matter.” That’s a long way from a filed suit, and it’s worth treating it as exactly what it is: a statement, not a lawsuit.

Gamers didn’t wait for lawyers to weigh in, and the reaction split between anger at the theme and disbelief that a .gov site shipped a game this close to a copyrighted mechanic:

Build the Wall: Bricks, a “Horde” and a Zombie Border Siege

Build the Wall runs on falling-block mechanics lifted straight from Tetris, but instead of clearing lines, players stack sections of wall while the game tells them to “protect the border from the coming horde.” Lose, and the game ends with the message “Border Breached.” The subtitle on the game itself reads “ZOMBIE BORDER SIEGE,” with pixel-art figures bouncing off the player’s wall before disintegrating.

It’s one of five titles in the arcade, sitting alongside “Rio Run,” a Snake clone where users “patrol the line” along the Rio Grande and “pick up every crosser in the lot” to earn a high score of deportations. There’s also a Flappy Bird riff called Flappy Bill, a Tapper-style food-sorting game tied to school lunch policy, and a coin-catcher built around Trump savings accounts.

Sega’s Logo Morphs Into MAGA, Xbox and Flappy Bird Also Turn Up

Tetris isn’t the only IP the arcade borrows from without a licence. Promotional content posted by the White House on social media also included images that resemble trademarks and designs from Microsoft-owned Xbox. A separate clip shows the letters from the Sega logo transforming into MAGA, and Flappy Bill is a near-direct copy of the Flappy Bird Foundation’s mobile hit.

None of those companies have gone as far as Tetris. Forbes reported that Microsoft, Sony, Sega and other companies had their IP ripped off by the White House, but haven’t said a word. That silence is the more interesting story here. Staying quiet on a government website using your brand to sell an immigration crackdown is its own kind of statement, and we’d read it as companies weighing a political fight against a legal one and deciding neither is worth the exposure.

Tetris’s Full Statement: “We Believe in the Power of Connection”

Tetris posted its response on Instagram and X, distancing the brand from the game’s message rather than just its mechanics. “At Tetris we believe in the power of connection and bringing people together, not dividing them,” the company wrote, adding “To our fans everywhere, we love you, we see you, and we’re grateful to have you in our community.”

Two postscripts followed: one confirming it had no hand in the game, and then, more pointedly, “P.P.S. We take copyright infringement very seriously.” That line is doing the heavy lifting here. It’s a warning shot, not a court filing, and there’s no confirmation yet that Tetris has sent a takedown notice or a cease-and-desist to the White House.

Pokémon’s Been Down This Road Twice Already in 2026

Tetris isn’t breaking new ground by pushing back. The Pokémon Company issued near-identical statements twice this year after the White House and the Department of Homeland Security used its branding without permission, including a March post that mimicked the box art of Nintendo’s Pokémon Pokopia. “We were not involved in its creation or distribution, and no permission was granted for the use of our intellectual property,” a Pokémon spokesperson said at the time, adding the company’s mission “is not affiliated with any political viewpoint or agenda.”

Halo co-creator Marcus Lehto has also spoken out, telling Game File a prior Department of Homeland Security post using Halo imagery was “absolutely abhorrent” — proof this isn’t the first time a studio figure has had to publicly reject being lumped in with government messaging. Our view: none of these statements carry any real teeth without a filed complaint, and until someone actually sues, the White House has no reason to pull a working game off its own website.

As of this week, Build the Wall and the rest of the arcade remain live at whitehouse.gov/arcade. Tetris hasn’t given a timeline for its review, and the White House hasn’t publicly responded to the copyright warning. Whether that changes likely hinges on whether any of Microsoft, Sega or the Flappy Bird Foundation decide silence isn’t working either.