Earlier this week, game publisher EA announced that it will be removing its Tetris apps from the App Store on April 21, 2020. EA did not provide a reason for this move, but it appears to be related to a licensing change.

tetris n3twork
As part of a multi-year agreement with The Tetris Company, game developer N3TWORK today announced that it has released an all-new Tetris app on the App Store for iPhone and iPad. The app features a traditional solo gameplay experience, both online and offline, and will be updated with new gameplay modes in the future.

The new Tetris app is free to download worldwide, excluding China and New Zealand, with an optional $4.99 in-app purchase to remove ads.

Top Rated Comments

Juicy Box Avatar
79 months ago

Out of curiosity, the first time you went to a bar early in life and paid $5 for your first beer ever, you probably enjoyed it for about a half hour before it was empty. Then when you asked the bar tender for a refill and they said, "That will be another $5", were you raged with anger and said, "I already paid $5, so I want free refills for the rest of my life"?

It's funny how people put a price on things they enjoy. For some, they will pay hundreds or thousands over a span of 4 or 5 years for beer, but if an app they equally enjoy does a one time charge of $5 for the same span of time, they freak out.
It is as simple as durable good versus consumable good.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durable_good
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumables


Until recently, almost all video games were considered durable goods. With the rise of digital media, a long with the bubblegum-like mobile game industry, video games are now becoming more consumable in nature.


It's funny how people put a price on things they enjoy.
If video games were always a consumable good, there probably wouldn't be any complaining, but when people used to be able to buy a video game and continue to use it indefinitely, and now you could buy a game today and tomorrow it could be pulled from the apps store or an iOS update can break the game, this understandably irks people.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Labeno Avatar
79 months ago

So another multi-year agreement, $5 to remove ads, and the need to re-do this all over again in a few years since we won't actually own the game.
I feel I need to respond, and I'm not trying to create a controversy, but just making an observation of something that perplexes me.

Out of curiosity, the first time you went to a bar early in life and paid $5 for your first beer ever, you probably enjoyed it for about a half hour before it was empty. Then when you asked the bar tender for a refill and they said, "That will be another $5", were you raged with anger and said, "I already paid $5, so I want free refills for the rest of my life"?

It's funny how people put a price on things they enjoy. For some, they will pay hundreds or thousands over a span of 4 or 5 years for beer, but if an app they equally enjoy does a one time charge of $5 for the same span of time, they freak out.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
herocero Avatar
79 months ago
I can’t wait for their exclusivity to end so in the future I have the opportunity to buy this game a third time ... pass.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
martyjmclean Avatar
79 months ago
Ah this one looks much better than the EA one!
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pakaku Avatar
79 months ago
Meh, at this point I'll just stick with some form of the game that won't expire, like Tetris on NES
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
darkslide29 Avatar
79 months ago

Well... nobody's forcing you to dump your currently installed version? Alternatively you can buy a gameboy :p

IMO it's basically a Russian scam though.
As a matter of fact, they kind of are forcing us to dump the currently installed version. According to the original story (https://www.macrumors.com/2020/01/21/ea-tetris-ios-retiring-april-2020/), they are going to flip a switch and the game is going to stop working entirely, even on already-installed devices.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
Apple Logo Black

Apple Just Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever After Beats

Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio. Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014. Q.ai has...
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pros Reportedly Launching Alongside macOS 26.3

Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...