Apple TV+ Shares The Insanity It Took To Bring Tetris To Market

Tetris, the iconic puzzle game, has been around for almost 40 years and has become one of the most addictive and popular games in history. Its simple gameplay, coupled with its challenging and engaging nature, has made it a classic that has stood the test of time. Tetris is not like other games, though. Tetris was created by a developer in the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Apple TV+ released a movie called “Tetris,” which tells the story of how the game made its way out of the Soviet Union and into Western markets.

I realize I am dating myself—but I have played Tetris almost since its inception. I had the PC version from Spectrum HoloByte on my Tandy 1000 SL and played it incessantly. When I was in the US Air Force, stationed at RAF Upper Heyford in England, there were two games I installed on the PC at work (in hidden folders so the powers that be remained unaware)—the golf game Links and Tetris. To this day, Tetris is still my go-to game. I only have a small handful of games on my iPhone, and the only two I play with any regularity are Sudoku and Tetris.

When I heard about this movie, my first thought was, “How exciting can a movie that tells the origin story of a computer game actually be?” That was before I knew anything about the real story.

Tetris by the Numbers

The concept is simple. Different shapes called “Tetrominoes”—each comprised of four blocks—fall from the top of the screen, and you rotate and position them to fit together to form complete lines. As you complete lines, they disappear—and the game gets continuously faster as you level up. The game ends when you fail to remove the lines and the pieces reach the top of the screen.

There is a line at the beginning of the movie where Henk Rogers (played by Taron Egerton) proclaims, “I played for five minutes. I still see falling blocks in my dreams.” I can vouch for this. When you play Tetris, it’s like your subconscious brain continues to calculate how you could do better.

While it is subjective to determine the “greatest game of all time,” Tetris has some of the most impressive metrics of any game. Tetris had sold more than 200 million copies across various platforms by its 35^th anniversary in 2019, making it the second-best-selling game of all time, only behind Minecraft. The game also holds the Guinness Book of World Records title for the most ported game—available on over 65 platforms. These metrics are a testament to the game’s longevity and popularity, which has transcended generations and cultural boundaries.

Against the Odds

The movie tells the story of the game’s journey from its inception in the Soviet Union to its eventual release in Western markets. Alexey Pajitnov, a developer in Moscow, created the game on an Electronika 60—an archaic computer with no graphical interface—using ASCII parentheses and spaces to form the “squares” of the Tetris shapes.

The story is centered around Henk Rogers, a Dutch entrepreneur who grew up in the United States but lived in Japan, and his quixotic quest to acquire the rights to the game. Rogers ignored or was apparently oblivious to Soviet laws and protocols. Meanwhile, Robert and Kevin Maxwell, with the ostensibly substantial resources of MirrorSoft, attempt to secure the rights to Tetris for themselves.

The movie portrays the two parties—along with a few others—going head-to-head, engaging in a high-stakes game of chess, international intrigue, capitalist greed, and potential jail or death to determine who would get the rights to the game.

Based on the True Story

While some elements of the movie may have been added or exaggerated for dramatic effect, the movie “Tetris” is based on a true story. I spoke to the actual subjects of the movie, Henk Rogers and Alexey Pajitnov, and they confirmed that the movie stays true to the overall storyline. Some of the specific details may be slightly different, but according to them, the movie accurately portrays the spirit of the events that transpired.

I don’t want to give away any spoilers. Suffice it to say that the movie illustrates the mantra that fortune favors the bold—especially if you add in some naiveté. “I was basically testing the waters to see how far I could go before something bad started to happen,” Henk explained. “I remember figuring out where the KGB building is, and I went outside that building and took pictures of it. And I was kind of waiting for a policeman to come say ‘No. You can’t do that,’ right?”

He added, “Yes. There was definitely that stress of not knowing what was what and who would be reporting to who and so on. I just had to go.”

There was a significant risk for Alexey and his family as well. He pointed out that much of what he did was highly illegal under Soviet rule, but also noted that this was happening in the late 80s—when Mikhail Gorbachev was leader, and it was the Age of Perestroika that eventually led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

The Future of Tetris

Tetris has been Tetris for nearly 40 years. Little has changed about the game in that time. I asked the two what the future holds—what else can you do with Tetris?

Henk told me, “There’s a couple of things that come to mind. One is that I’m working on a medical device to monitor brain function. There was a study done at Oxford that showed that Tetris mitigates the effects of PTSD. People who play Tetris after trauma have the frequency and half the intensity of flashbacks. So it’s probably the number one game played by soldiers out in the field as they come back from combat because it interferes with the trauma, audio-visuals going to long-term memory.”

They are also developing technology to watch brain function over time in stroke patients to see how quickly their cognitive abilities improve. Henk explained that they are working with a neuroscience company to watch brainwaves as people play Tetris in an effort to understand and refine the impact it has.

The Perfect Game

As Henk Rogers declares in the movie, “It’s the perfect game.”

“Tetris” tells the story of its journey from the Soviet Union to Western markets. The movie is based on true events—which actually makes it crazier. Despite my initial skepticism, it turns out that the origin story of a computer game can make a rather compelling movie. If you are a fan of the game or just enjoy video game history, the “Tetris” movie is a must-see. It is available on Apple TV+.