Tetris Creator Alexey Pajitnov (left) and Henk Rogers, Founder of The Tetris Company(right). Image Credits: Red Bull
Tetris is not one of the first titles that comes to mind when discussing esports. However, Henk Rogers, Founder of The Tetris Company, believes that the classic puzzle video game is, in fact, a traditional esport.
Given that the game was created in 1984, this makes some of the most popular esports titles today non-traditional by comparison.
Speaking to Esports Insider during the 2025 Red Bull Tetris World Final, Henk Rogers explained that while the current esports ecosystem attracts a massive audience, it does not target everyone.
“I think esports got off on the wrong foot. It’s catering to a certain demographic. And that demographic can be pretty big, like mixed martial arts or boxing. But it’s not for everybody, and you don’t want to bring that into your living room with your family,” Rogers said.
The founder went on to draw similarities between the Olympics and Tetris, highlighting how both can be enjoyed by all age groups due to their non-violent nature. As a result, he believes Tetris has the potential to become the first truly Olympic-style esport.
“The Olympics is for everybody,” he added.
”Anyone in the family can watch and enjoy it. So I think Tetris will be one of the first Olympic-style esports, meaning it’s good, clean fun. Nobody has to die or anything like that.”
Tetris’ Focus on Broad Appeal
Image Credits: Esports Insider
Talking to Esports Insider about Tetris’ legacy, Henk Rogers explained that it largely stems from the game’s simplicity and universal appeal.
He explained: “It just has to do with how good the game is. It’s so magnetic, simple, and interesting that everybody wants to play it.
”We’ve been careful all along to make sure we don’t connect it to any violence or sex or anything like that. We keep the game clean.”
Rogers also shared his long-standing personal principle of only working on games suitable for children and adults alike. In this case, Tetris is typically rated E, meaning it is suitable for all age groups, with some mobile versions carrying a 4+ age rating due to in-app purchases.
“When I first started making games myself, I decided I would never work on a game I didn’t want my children to play,” Rodgers stated.
“That’s a very good and simple rule of thumb. If you create a super-violent game, let me see you get your little kids to play it, but you won’t. So, that should be the first test of whether a game is good for society. So, my focus has always been on how broad we can make the appeal.”
Red Bull’s Role in Elevating Tetris as an Esport
Image Credits: Red Bull
Red Bull recently partnered with The Tetris Company to organise one of the biggest esports events in the title’s history, Red Bull Tetris, which concluded with an offline World Final in Dubai.
The Grand Final’s main highlight was its location, the Dubai Frame, which was transformed into a massive Tetris screen using over 2,000 drones. The event concluded with Fehmi Atalar from Turkey lifting the trophy to become the World Champion.
In addition to this, Red Bull also released limited-edition Tetris World Final-themed cans, helping the game reach consumers worldwide in its own unique way.
“Red Bull put Tetris on around 160 to 169 million cans. But altogether, they make about 7.5 billion cans a year. That’s an incredibly wide reach. So, teaming up with Red Bull gives us access to a really huge audience, and I’m very grateful to Red Bull for sponsoring this. This is the best thing that’s happened to Tetris,” Rogers said.
Henk Rogers’ Vision for Tetris as an Olympic Title
Image Credits: Tetris Interest
While Henk Rogers hinted at the start of the interview that The Tetris Company was seeking Olympic approval, he later confirmed this when discussing the company’s future plans. Moreover, he also revealed that the company is aiming to develop a Tetris title specifically designed for esports.
“So, we want to make an Olympic Tetris,” he said. “I’m talking about creating a game that’s specifically for esports, OK, and that can be called Olympic Tetris.
“You can’t call anything Olympic. You can’t use the word Olympics. It’s an esport that can qualify as an Olympic esport.”
However, Rogers acknowledged that the immediate challenge lies in making Tetris more engaging as a ‘spectator sport’, a facet that some of the biggest esports have focused on in recent years.
“Up until now, we’ve focused on the player and whether the player is having fun. But now we have to think about the spectators having fun. I’ve seen the top players in the world, and they play so fast that the spectator can’t understand what’s going on,” he added.
The company aims to achieve this with the help of tools such as replays and AI. The Tetris Company’s Founder mentioned that combining these with explanations by commentators will help fans better understand what is happening on screen.
“We need replays so we can slow things down when a player makes an amazing move and show what they were thinking,” Rogers said. “I think AI can identify the best moves in a game and play them back afterwards. That’s where we want to go.”
However, standardising formats across different regions and platforms is another challenge for The Tetris Company. The founder explained that while there are over 200 versions of Tetris, the company has established guidelines to ensure the core mechanics remain the same at the very least.
He explained: “We worked hard to create one version that could accept players from the Sega side, the Nintendo side, and all the different platforms.
“That standardisation became the guideline for all future licences. We made sure that the mechanics of the game are at least the same from platform to platform.”
As Tetris esports continue to evolve, the title has the potential to establish itself alongside other popular competitive games, particularly due to its simplicity and non-violent nature. Combined with partnerships such as the Red Bull one, the puzzle game aims to showcase what an effective Olympic-style esport could feasibly look like.
