The White House launched a ‘Tetris’-style border wall game, then pulled it after Tetris Co. cited copyright infringement

The White House put an online arcade on its website with MAGA-themed games modeled after familiar titles, including Tetris, Snake, and Flappy Bird. One title in that lineup was Build the Wall, which closely followed the look and play of Tetris.

In that game, users stacked bricks to form a wall along the southern border. The opening text told players to “hold the line” against a “zombie border siege.”

Tetris Co. answered on X. The company said it “was not involved in the creation” of the game and takes “copyright infringement very seriously.” NBC News reported that Build the Wall was taken down from the website after Tetris Co. issued the statement.

Tetris Company said it was not involved and takes copyright claims seriously

The company added last week in an online statement, “At Tetris we believe in the power of connection and bringing people together, not dividing them.” It also wrote, “To our fans everywhere: we love you, we see you, and we’re grateful to have you in our community.”

A snapshot of the White House site preserved by the Wayback Machine showed the game still listed on Monday afternoon. By Tuesday, the listing was gone.

Games that remain on the White House site include Rio Run, which tells players to “patrol the line along the river” and “pick up every crosser.” That title resembles Snake.

“Flappy Bill” remains as well. It resembles Flappy Bird and tells players who control a bald eagle to “keep the bill in the air while flying through monuments.”

To advertise the arcade, the White House posted videos that copied well-known game-company intros. One used a changed version of the Xbox startup animation. Another changed the Sega startup look and sound to “MAGA.” A third copied the Nintendo GameCube startup.

The White House also posted a video on its X account on Tuesday that seemed quite similar to The Legend of Zelda. The White House has faced multiple legal challenges over its use of intellectual property, such as when activists and an Air Force veteran sued to block a UFC match. The opening screen read “The Legend of Trump” and “Make America Great Again,” used the Nintendo game’s logo and font, and played a song from that game.

The White House has used or changed material from popular games and fictional characters in earlier political posts. Officials have also placed copyrighted songs under political videos, and some artists have later said they did not want their music used that way.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in December posted an image of the children’s book character Franklin the Turtle in combat gear, firing a bazooka from a helicopter at small boats carrying packages. This follows a pattern of unauthorized use of children’s characters, such as when the Tetris Company cited copyright infringement.

The image carried the lines “Franklin Targets Narco Terrorists” and “A Classic Franklin Story.” Kids Can Press said in a post on X that it strongly condemns “any denigrating, violent, or unauthorized use of Franklin’s name or image.”

Musician Sabrina Carpenter, that same month, criticized the White House after one of her songs appeared in a video of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detaining people. She called the video “evil and disgusting” and added, “Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”