Tetris Company rebukes Trump 'Build the Wall' parody game
The Tetris Company publicly distanced itself from Build the Wall, a Tetris-style parody game published by the US government that promotes the Trump administration's border rhetoric, and warned it takes copyright infringement seriously.
Build the Wall has players stacking bricks along the Southern border to repel zombies, with blocks repelling undead of the same color rather than clearing lines. It appeared last week alongside other Trump-themed games based on Snake and Flappy Bird, some of which rework Sony, Nintendo and Xbox console logo screens. The three platform holders have not commented.
The Tetris Company responded on Instagram. "At Tetris we believe in the power of connection and bringing people together, not dividing them," the statement reads. A caption added that the company "was not involved in the creation of 'Build the Wall'" and that it "take[s] copyright infringement very seriously."
The statement stops short of announcing a lawsuit, though Rock Paper Shotgun reports the company hinted it is prepared to sue. The episode is the latest in a series of government-published games that borrow familiar game formats and console branding for political messaging.
A rights holder's public rebuke of a US government-published game raises questions about how intellectual property law applies to official political propaganda that borrows established game formats and branding.