From a Soviet computer lab to a global phenomenon
Tetris was created by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov while working at the Dorodnitsyn Computing Centre of the Soviet Academy of Sciences in Moscow. In June 1984, he wrote the first version on an Electronika 60 — a Soviet computer with no graphics capability, so he used text characters as blocks.
The name "Tetris" comes from the Greek prefix "tetra" (four, as all pieces are made of four squares) combined with "tennis," Pajitnov's favourite sport. The game was immediately addictive — colleagues couldn't stop playing it and productivity at the research centre suffered.
Because Pajitnov worked for a Soviet state institution, all rights to Tetris belonged to the USSR government. The game was smuggled out of the Soviet Union and sparked one of the most complex and legally contentious licensing disputes in gaming history, involving British software publisher Mirrorsoft, Atari, and eventually Nintendo.
Nintendo secured the global handheld rights in 1989 and bundled Tetris with the Game Boy — a decision widely credited with the Game Boy's massive success. Nintendo sold 35 million copies of Game Boy Tetris alone.
Tetris has been the subject of extensive scientific research. The "Tetris Effect" is a documented phenomenon where people who play the game intensively begin to visualize Tetris pieces falling when they close their eyes or even in everyday life. Studies have shown Tetris can reduce flashback symptoms of PTSD and help with craving reduction.
Researchers at the Tetris Company have conducted brain scan studies showing that playing Tetris increases brain efficiency and gray matter thickness in areas related to critical thinking.
With over 500 million copies sold across all platforms and versions, Tetris is arguably the best-selling video game of all time. It has been released on more platforms than any other game — over 65 different systems. Even today, Tetris Effect (2018) and Tetris 99 (2019) introduced the classic gameplay to entirely new audiences.
For ten years, Pajitnov received no royalties from Tetris while the Soviet government — and then the chaos of the USSR's collapse — kept him from his creation's earnings. In 1996, he finally received the rights to Tetris and co-founded The Tetris Company, which now manages all official licensing. He has said he is comfortable with how things turned out and is proud of Tetris's cultural impact.
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