Tetris on Apple TV+: Is Taron Egerton's film based on a true story?

Taron Egerton leads the all-new Apple TV+ drama Tetris, inspired by the popular puzzle game of the same name. The film, which premiered on March 31, 2023, chronicles the real story surrounding the development of the titular video game, with Egerton portraying Henk Rogers.

Rogers is a well-known Dutch game designer who collaborated with Moscow-based developers to propagate games worldwide. The film also addresses the game's complicated concept and how its release coincided with the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc.

Back then, it was nearly impossible to get products created in the former Soviet Union from under the grip of a totalitarian state that controlled the rights to practically everything Russian citizens worked for in the 80s and 90s.

Hence, the true account behind bringing the game to the public is truly riveting, as it features conflicts for the rights to the wildly popular game.

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Tetris: Taron Egerton plays Dutch game designer Henk Rogers, the man behind the video game's overnight success

In Apple TV+'s latest release, Welsh actor Taron Egerton's character Henk Rogers is seen maneuvering through a few tricky Russian protocols and dangerous settings to effectively illustrate the actual story of how Tetris became the most financially successful video game ever. The film also showcases his struggles while acquiring the rights to Tetris from Alexey Pajitnov.

Pajitnov, a Russian scientist and video game developer, created Tetris in 1984 on an Electronika 64. The game was moved to IBM PC the following year and instantly took off across the Soviet Union. It was named among the biggest games in the world and soon became the most-played computer game in Europe. The game took over the West in two years and became an instant hit in North America.

Henk Rogers discovered the engrossing game at a 1988 Las Vegas tradeshow and decided to make it his goal to obtain the licensing rights to the game. He wanted to introduce it to the general public, starting with Japan and Nintendo, which was booming then. Rogers' company, Bullet-Proof Software, later released the popular game on the PC and Nintendo Entertainment System.

The movie also depicts the sensational success of the game in the years that followed. Interestingly, Rogers and Pajitnov didn't meet until late 1988, and by that time, Tetris had already overtaken all other video games in popularity. The two quickly became close friends and business partners and collaborated to optimize the benefits of their work outside of the Soviet Union.

As previously mentioned, the Soviet Union knew they had caught a big fish with Tetris and were unwilling to let go of it. But Rogers was prepared to do the necessary and let the world in on Russia's growing secret, waging war against the communist state.

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Tetris comes with a fair share of drama and conspiracy that surrounds its development and developers

The video game is often associated with the Vladimir Pokhilko controversy, one of its co-creators and a key contributor to its development and success. Pokhilko was found dead alongside his son and wife at their Palo Alto, California, home in a gruesome crime scene. The mysterious case was declared a murder-suicide, with authorities establishing that Pokhilko murdered his family before killing himself.

But over the past 25 years, several forensic pathologists and detectives who handled the case have questioned whether it was a murder-suicide. The case has become the subject of conspiracy theories, with some linking the game's co-creator to the Russian mafia and others alleging that an outsider may have broken into the house, killed the entire family, and staged the crime scene.

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Tetris is now streaming on Apple TV+.