White House pulls Tetris-style ‘Build The Wall’ game after copyright concern
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White House pulls Tetris-style ‘Build The Wall’ game after copyright concern
The White House has taken down a Tetris-style game on its website called "Build The Wall", days after The Tetris Company raised concerns over its use of the game’s likeness.
The game, which saw players stack blocks to build a wall to "protect the border", is one of five arcade games which have appeared on the White House website.
On 4 September, the official Tetris account on X posted:
We are not involved in the creation of this content and take copyright infringement very seriously.
The White House has not responded to requests for comment from the BBC or given an official reason for the takedown.
"At Tetris we believe in the power of connection and building people together, not dividing them," the firm said.
"To our fans everywhere: we love you, we see you, and we’re grateful to have you in our community."
The Tetris Company has had previous success in suing firms for infringing on its copyright—settling for an undisclosed fee with the makers of the iPhone game Mino in 2012.
Four other arcade games still remain on the mini-game section of the White House website.
- "Flappy Bill", a clone of the 2013 viral hit Flappy Bird, sees players fly a bald eagle and dodge monuments from the National Mall.
- Rio Run involves patrolling the line along the river, with gameplay reminiscent of the classic phone game Snake.
When players run into the edge of the map, a "Deported" number shows how many people the player was able to catch.
The games have drawn criticism from politicians, including Connecticut Democratic state senator Matt Lesser, who tweeted:
"Heating oil is near an all-time high but hey you can play Border Tsar Tom Homan in a video game."
Video games and The White House
The arcade section is just one example of how the Trump administration has increasingly incorporated video game culture into its political messaging on social media.
In October 2020, the official White House X account drew criticism for posting an AI-generated picture of President Trump in a suit from the video game Halo.
On 6 March, it posted a video mixing footage of US military strikes in Iran with film and TV clips, as well as a clip from Halo‘s protagonist Master Chief saying "finishing this fight."
The post was condemned by the Master Chief voice actor Steve Downes in a now-deleted tweet which called for "the producers of this disgusting and juvenile war porn" to remove his voice from the video.
The Pokémon Company International also criticised the White House’s use of its imagery in March when it included a tiny version of the popular character Pikachu in a meme posted online with the phrase "Make America Great Again."
