“It is good, solid, and will work forever”: Alexey Pajitnov on Tetris at Red Bull Tetris World Final 2025 [Sportskeeda Exclusive]

At the lately concluded Red Bull Tetris World Final 2025, one might discover its creator, Alexey Pajitnov, watching the marvel unfold and the winner topped. The sport that he created about 4 a long time in the past stays massively fashionable with an ever-increasing international enchantment.

When I sat all the way down to have a chat with Pajitnov on the occasion, his first query was whether or not Tetris was fashionable in India. The dialog that adopted touched on the journey of Tetris, the Tetris impact, the present online game trade, and whether or not he would have achieved something totally different if he had the prospect.

Alexey Pajitnov on the Tetris gameplay, its results, the present gaming trade, and extra

Q: How do you’re feeling concerning the evolution of Tetris over time, from the place it began to a world occasion like Red Bull Tetris World Final?

Alexey: There are two components. The first half is concerning the gameplay. I’m very joyful that it remained the identical and was very precisely represented in each model, in all places in every kind of editions. Even in your Chinese counterfeits, they attempt to hold it the identical. That means the gameplay I got here up with about forty years in the past is stable.

Then we have now nice evolution – plenty of totally different makes an attempt. My first model, you see on my t-shirt (factors on the t-shirt he’s carrying). Since this model, we have now had additional variations the place Tetris turned a world nice sport. Basically, I really feel my sport gathered plenty of good improvements, enhancements, graphics, and options. It’s a really fortunate sport.

Q: What did you assume while you first learnt about Tetris’ potential to deal with stress and trauma, and likewise the Tetris impact? According to you, why does Tetris produce such sturdy results?

Alexey: Well, it is a very controversial story. Because once we began within the 80s, there have been numerous very unhealthy rumors concerning the sport. The sport was very revolutionary. You don’t keep in mind it and couldn’t most likely even get it from the media, however there have been plenty of assaults on laptop video games. People have been very scared that that they had a nasty affect on the children, that they produce and provoke violence.

I used to be a extremely sturdy proponent of the opposite standpoint. I felt that’s one of the best leisure doable, very energetic. It’s excellent. It’s significantly better than the passive form of pornographic or violent motion motion pictures as a result of it feels energetic, and you’re impressed to withstand it. You are capable of carry your motivation, strengths, and focus into the sport.

I at all times been a powerful proponent of video video games. The individuals who attempt to defend laptop video games at all times faux that they’re helpful for studying or one thing. I by no means supported this. My sport is pure leisure. It’s for enjoyable. All it’s essential to get from Tetris is plenty of happiness from the display. Playing the sport entertain your self, take pleasure in. That’s the principle stuff. I don’t need you to make use of it to study one thing or get higher at one thing.

There are constructive unwanted side effects of enjoying Tetris. Many individuals approached me and mentioned they discover it very helpful to make use of Tetris for newbie drivers. When you begin driving a automotive, it’s essential to make excellent choices in a short while. Tetris form of helped with that focus. You want to watch and focus on the similar time. Somehow it helped. Whether it’s true or not, I don’t know. I don’t have any goal information on it.

But in a while, we have been approached by Emily Holmes, the Oxford psychologist. She made a really meticulous research of the post-traumatic occasions being handled by video video games. And she proved scientifically that Tetris is certainly useful for this stress conditions. In quick, the principle influence of the aggravating state of affairs is the so-called flashback. People in a nasty second or after which have these things coming again.

So if, after a traumatic occasion, they performed Tetris, which is a really video-intensive exercise, it form of wipes out the opposite stuff. It relieves individuals of these flashbacks. And she proved it scientifically. That’s a really large deal. But, I nonetheless keep on my level – Tetris is for enjoyable.

Q: What can be your fondest reminiscence concerning Tetris’ journey because you created it?

Alexey: There have been a number of jokes and caricatures. In Russia, there have been like soiled jokes, for instance army commanded the troopers to take a seat and soar. The different officer would say, “Come on, don’t play Tetris during the time” (laughs) or one thing like that. There have been numerous these jokes.

I do keep in mind I used to be touched by one second throughout the competitors when a younger journalist, a college boy, approached me and requested me to signal his Game Boy cartridge. I did signal it, and he took the glue and glued it inside. That was very touching.

Q: What do you’re feeling concerning the present stage of the sport dev trade?

Alexey: Well, I don’t need to choose your entire trade as a result of I don’t play a lot of the character video games. I did spend eight years enjoying World of Warcraft.

Angshuman: Henk informed me he bought you hooked into it, and also you outplayed him.

Alexey: Oh yeah, many occasions. He is just too busy to play it as a lot as I did. And I actually take pleasure in Minecraft as nicely. I believe it’s an outrageously good sport. It may be very inventive and has a really brilliant future for many years, I hope. But my coronary heart continues to be in puzzles and small video games. And I really feel that they form of begin entering into the great shapes, however usually are not there but.

This puzzle trade was at all times in its personal space. The large video games pushed them up. Later on, when informal video games began coming, their pricing and monetary techniques began pushing them away. Now we have now this actually terrible state of affairs the place the sport designers and sport producers for puzzle video games want to remain as beggars, promoting low-cost options, or gathering funds from promoting gadgets, and getting ads.

Come on! You are capable of pay for a few cappuccinos, six {dollars}. Why don’t you play three {dollars} and benefit from the sport for dozens of hours? But in some way that didn’t work. And the trade continues to be begging for 5 cents for this merchandise or no matter. And they spoil a sport. That’s what I see as the massive drawback.

Because of that, individuals can’t make investments truthful time within the correct design of the sport. They change the sport on the fly, which is an terrible apply. They make the sport, they see what works higher, and so they change it on the fly. This is such dishonest. I hope all these things is gone very quickly and we come again to the conventional enterprise mannequin.

Angshuman: Are you at present enjoying any video games?

Alexey: Yes, puzzles. I’m good at Sudoku. I play with 2048. I’ve a couple of dozen video games that I play on a regular basis. Bejeweled was one other actually good sport.

Q: If you have been designing a sport like Tetris right now with right now’s know-how, market, trade, and so on., how would you go about it? Would you alter something?

Alexey: That’s query. First of all, I might hold the gameplay untouched, that’s for positive. It is sweet, stable, and can work perpetually.

I do keep in mind the time I designed the sport, I felt it was sport, however I used to be actually scared to overwhelm it with the options, the additional stuff, which will probably be distorting or not. So I used to be actually scared sport designer firstly.

Now I will probably be extra brave, and doubtless embody plenty of options instantly. I’ll positively do extra interactive parts as a result of the brand new technology may be very spoiled.

The Red Bull Tetris World Final 2025 came about on December 12 and December 13, 2025, with Türkiye’s Fehmi Atalar being topped the champion.