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 online minigame, which asked players to stack bricks to create a border‑protecting wall, was one of five arcade‑style games that have been featured on the White House website.
On 4 September, the official Tetris account on X warned that the firm had no involvement in the game's creation and stressed its commitment to copyright enforcement.
The White House has not issued an official statement explaining why the game was removed. In a statement to media outlets, The Tetris Company said they "believe in the power of connection and building people together, not dividing them," and expressed gratitude for its supporters.
While the removal of "Build The Wall" has already raised eyebrows, four other games remain in the “Mini‑Games” section. These include:
- "Flappy Bill" – a clone of the viral Flappy Bird that pilots a bald eagle, dodging landmarks from the National Mall.
- "Rio Run" – a Snake‑style challenge that forces players to patrol a river, a format that repeatedly flags its retro gameplay.
- Two other vintage‑style titles also remain accessible.
The decision to remove the game came amid pressure from state senators and pressure groups. Connecticut Democratic state Senator Matt Lesser tweeted, "Heating oil is near an all‑time high but hey you can play Border Tsar Tom Homan in a video game" to criticize the paradoxical messaging.
The controversy over "Build The Wall" is not the first instance of the White House leaning on gaming culture to promote policy points. In October 2025, the official White House X account posted a photo depicting President Trump in a Halo-themed suit that drew criticism from the broader gaming community. On 6 March, a video combined footage of U.S. military strikes in Iran with scenes from the Halo franchise, prompting the voice actor for Master Chief to call the mix "juvenile war porn".
The Pokémon Company International also took issue with a meme that repurposed Pikachu with the slogan "Make America Great Again," after it was shared by a White House account in March.
