Tetris® is one of the leading and most distinctive video game brands and franchises in the world. Loved globally by people of all ages and all cultures, Tetris continues to be one of the most widely recognized video games of all time. Since its creation 25 years ago, more than 125 million Tetris products have been sold and that number is still growing.
In June 1984, Alexey Pajitnov created Tetris in his spare time while working for the Moscow Academy of Sciences. Born out of Pajitnov's love of puzzles and gaming, Tetris revolutionized puzzle games with distinctive “falling” pieces that players could arrange in real time along the bottom of the rectangular playing field, or “matrix,” in order to clear lines.
Four years later, video game designer and publisher Henk Rogers discovered Tetris at a Las Vegas trade show. Confident that Tetris was becoming a huge hit, Rogers flew to Moscow one year later to secure the handheld rights to Tetris and then negotiated an agreement with Nintendo to launch Tetris on the Game Boy. In 1989, the Game Boy was released with one packed in cartridge – Tetris. The Game Boy version of Tetris went on to break previous age and gender barriers and created a global phenomenon selling more than 35 million copies worldwide.
For an interactive Tetris timeline, please visit our History page.
It is no surprise that Tetris is a licensing success. The Tetris brand is unique in the interactive game industry. It is an evergreen brand, with mass worldwide appeal that continues to thrive. Over the years, Tetris has been licensed to many of the top video game publishers in the world including Electronic Arts, Nintendo, Capcom, Sega and THQ. Released on more than 30 different platforms and translated into more than 50 languages, Tetris is and will continue to be the game that can be played anytime, anywhere.
Tetris Holding, LLC is the owner of Tetris worldwide and The Tetris Company, LLC is its exclusive licensee. The Tetris Company, through its agent Blue Planet Software, Inc., licenses and manages the Tetris intellectual property and franchise worldwide. Today, Blue Planet Software continues to work with licensees to deliver top quality Tetris products that are relevant, fun and challenging for its millions of players
