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🇦🇷 Argentina /Culture & Society

Tetris threatens to sue the White House over wall-building video game promoting Trump’s immigration policy

From Clarín · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • The Tetris Company said it had no role in creating “Build the Wall,” a White House video game modeled on the classic block-stacking game.
  • The game presents players with building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border to stop approaching migrants, as part of a five-game platform promoting Donald Trump’s policies.
  • Human rights groups criticized the use of games to depict migrant detention and deportation, while the White House defended the platform as an interactive presentation of Trump’s agenda.

The company behind Tetris has warned the White House that its “Build the Wall” video game could trigger legal action, while making clear that it had nothing to do with the title’s creation.

“Tetris Company did not participate in the creation of ‘Build the Wall.’ By the way: we take copyright infringements very seriously,” the company wrote on social media. It also said it believed in “the power to bring people together, not divide them,” ending its message with words of “love” for followers around the world.

Tetris Company did not participate in the creation of 'Build the Wall.' By the way: we take copyright infringements very seriously.

· The Tetris CompanyThe company denied involvement in the White House game and warned of possible copyright action.

The warning came one day after the White House unveiled Arcade, a platform featuring five retro-style games based on major policies promoted by Donald Trump. In “Build the Wall,” players fit blocks together to raise a wall on the border with Mexico and, according to the official description, “protect the border from the approaching horde.” A sign in the game emphasizes that the setting is the southern border.

We believe in the power to bring people together, not divide them.

· The Tetris CompanyThe company criticized the divisive message associated with the game.

Other titles use familiar game formats to present the administration’s policies. “Rio Run” adapts Snake and puts players in control of Trump immigration adviser Tom Homan, who patrols the Rio Grande border to stop migrants entering the country. “Flappy Bill” copies the mechanics of Flappy Bird, while “Supply Line” draws on Tapper to represent the Republican administration’s food policy.

The White House said the games would bring Trump’s agenda into an interactive format and tell “the story of his accomplishments” in a way that connects with Americans. Human rights groups objected to the concept. “It disgusts me. They have been playing with people’s lives for years, and now they are making a video game out of their actions,” said Amérika García Grewal, co-director of the Texas-based Frontera Federation. She added that the designers had lost sight of what it meant to be human and care for others.

It disgusts me. They have been playing with people's lives for years, and now they are making a video game out of their actions.

· Amérika García GrewalThe Frontera Federation co-director criticized the use of games to depict immigration enforcement.
About this summary

Originally published by Clarín in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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