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The Tetris Company has announced it is working on a new CG-animated adventure series for kids (ages 6+), alongside executive producer Chuck Williams, best known for his work on video game adaptations like the original Sonic the Hedgehog movie (h/t: VGC).
Tetris: World Builders was announced at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and will reportedly blend "imaginative storytelling with STEAM-inspired problem-solving". That's STEAM, as in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, just in case you're confused, not the Valve storefront or the more literal definition of the word.
It is the creation of TeamTO producers Marco Balsamo and Tara Sibel Demren, working alongside Williams, and tells the story of a group of "World Builders" whose world is suddenly invaded by Tetris blocks.
"When massive, mysterious Tetrimino blocks begin raining from the sky," the premise reads, "A fearless team of young 'World Builders' must help their world adapt and evolve. Using ingenuity, collaboration, and STEAM-based thinking, the Scouts transform unexpected challenges into exciting new opportunities, reshaping landscapes, solving community problems, and building a brighter future together."
In 2023, a dramatisation of the battle for Tetris's rights was released, starring Taron Egerton as Henk Rogers, the co-founder of The Tetris Company. But at the very least, going as far back as 2014, the company has previously expressed aspirations to adapt the Tetris universe in other ways, including a film project with Threshold Entertainment (the company behind Mortal Kombat & Mortal Kombat: Annihilation) that was later teased as a sci-fi trilogy. This ultimately never came to pass, but it seems The Tetris Company hasn't given up hope of doing something more with the brand in the decade since.
“For more than 40 years, Tetris has brought people together through a universal language of logic and play,” Maya Rogers, the president and CEO of The Tetris Company, wrote in a press release. “With Tetris: World Builders, we are expanding the Tetris universe in an entirely new way, transforming one of the most iconic games of all time into a new adventure that inspires creativity, collaboration, and discovery.
"We are thrilled to partner with TeamTO to bring this vision to life and create a series that celebrates the limitless possibilities that emerge when people build together."
In the same announcement, Demren added, "There is something uniquely compelling about translating Tetris into a living, cinematic animated universe. With Tetris: World Builders, we have the opportunity to introduce human child characters into the world of Tetris for the very first time, allowing audiences to experience this ever-evolving universe through an emotional and character-driven lens.”
Admittedly, when the Threshold project was announced, I remember groaning along with pretty much everyone else. But considering the target market for this, young kids, I have to say this sounds quite fun and a good way of introducing the classic game to a new generation.
Only a single piece of key art has been released so far, so there's still a chance that they could mess this up. But for now, colour me intrigued.