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History of Tetris Timeline
(1984 - Present)Tetris is a tile-matching puzzle video game created in 1984 by Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov. Originally developed on an Electronika 60 computer in Moscow, Tetris became one of the first video games exported from the USSR to the West. Its addictive falling-block gameplay led to worldwide success across countless platforms, including the iconic Game Boy version and record-breaking mobile releases. More Less
Origins and Soviet Era
Alexey Pajitnov creates Tetris at the Dorodnitsyn Computing Centre
Jun 6, 1984
Soviet engineer Alexey Pajitnov created Tetris while working at the Dorodnitsyn Computing Centre of the Soviet Academy of Sciences in Moscow. Inspired by the pentomino puzzle game and his love of tetrominoes, he built a simple falling-block game on an Electronika 60 computer, unaware he had created one of the most popular video games of all time.
Image source: Tetris
Vadim Gerasimov ports Tetris to the IBM PC
1985
Teenage programmer Vadim Gerasimov ported Tetris from the Electronika 60 to the IBM PC, adding color graphics and making it playable on more widely available hardware. The game quickly spread through Moscow's computing community and beyond, as copies circulated freely across the Eastern Bloc.
Tetris spreads to Budapest via Hungarian software pirates
1986
A copy of Tetris reached Hungary's Institute of Computer Science in Budapest, where programmers enhanced it for Apple II and Commodore 64. This exposure brought Tetris to the attention of Western companies, setting the stage for international licensing negotiations.
Welltris, Pajitnov's sequel, is released
Nov 1989
Alexey Pajitnov co-developed Welltris, a three-dimensional successor to Tetris where pieces fall down the inside walls of a glass well. Published by Spectrum HoloByte, the sequel achieved moderate success but never matched the original's universal appeal.
Image source: Welltris
Pajitnov founds AnimaTek International
1991
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Alexey Pajitnov emigrated to the United States and co-founded AnimaTek International, a game development company. Freed from Soviet restrictions, he could finally pursue game design as a career, though Tetris royalties remained with ELORG.
Image source: Alexey Pajitnov
Licensing Battles
Robert Stein of Andromeda Software spots Tetris in Budapest
Jun 1986
Hungarian-born British entrepreneur Robert Stein saw Tetris during a visit to Budapest and recognized its commercial potential. He sent a telex to Pajitnov offering licensing terms before securing rights from the Soviet state, beginning a decade-long tangle of competing claims.
Henk Rogers discovers Tetris at CES
Jan 1988
Dutch-American game developer Henk Rogers played Tetris at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and became obsessed with bringing it to Japan. He secured Japanese rights through Bullet-Proof Software, laying groundwork that would later prove pivotal in resolving global licensing disputes.
Image source: Henk Rogers
Pajitnov grants worldwide rights to the Soviet state for ten years
1988
As Tetris spread globally, Pajitnov signed an agreement granting the Soviet state, through ELORG, the rights to his creation for ten years. He received no royalties from the game's massive commercial success during this period, though it earned him recognition within the USSR.
ELORG negotiates console and handheld rights with Nintendo
Feb 1989 - Mar 1989
Henk Rogers traveled to Moscow and persuaded ELORG, the Soviet foreign trade organization that held Tetris rights, to license handheld and console versions directly to Nintendo, bypassing earlier agreements. The deal granted Nintendo worldwide rights to Tetris for consoles and handhelds.
Tengen loses lawsuit over unlicensed NES Tetris
May 1989
Atari's Tengen division had released an unlicensed two-player NES version of Tetris based on rights obtained through Mirrorsoft. After Nintendo secured superior rights from ELORG, courts sided with Nintendo, forcing Tengen to recall roughly 268,000 cartridges from stores.
Image source: Tetris (Atari Games)
Key Facts
- Tetris was created on June 6, 1984, by Alexey Pajitnov at the Soviet Academy of Sciences in Moscow.
- The game's name derives from 'tetra' (Greek for four) and 'tennis,' Pajitnov's favorite sport.
- In 1989, Tetris was bundled with the Nintendo Game Boy, selling over 35 million copies and driving handheld gaming popularity.
- Because it was created while Pajitnov worked for the Soviet state, the rights to Tetris were controlled by the government until 1996, when he co-founded The Tetris Company to reclaim them.
- Tetris has been released on virtually every major gaming platform and remains one of the best-selling video games of all time.
Source
This History of Tetris timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.
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