The Tetris Company

The Tetris Company
Type	Private
Founded	August 10, 1983 (Bullet-Proof Software) 1996 (Blue Planet Software and Tetris Co.)
Headquarters	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Key people	Alexey Pajitnov, founder Henk Rogers, founder
Industry	Video games
Products	Video games
Number of people	Undisclosed
Website	http://www.tetris.com/

The Tetris Company, Inc. is a video game licensor.

Bullet-Proof Software

Henk Rogers formed Bullet-Proof Software August 10, 1983.

It was based in Yokohama, Japan.

The Tetris Company

Tetris rights dispute

In 1988, Spectrum Holobyte sold its Tetris rights for release in Japan to Henk Rogers through his company, Bullet-Proof Software. Mirrorsoft sold its Tetris rights for release in North America to Atari Games. Atari Games then sold its video game console rights to Henk Rogers.

Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi was an acquaintance of Henk Rogers, so the latter sought to acquire the handheld rights to Tetris. He tried to negotiate with Atari Games and Robert Stein, who had first acquired the Tetris license. However, after being told by Stein that he'd have to consult Elorg first, and trying and failing to negotiate with Stein several times, Henk Rogers traveled to the Soviet Union to negotiate directly with Elorg.

At the meeting, Elorg director Nikolai Belikov was surprised upon seeing a Bullet-Proof Software cartridge of Tetris for the Famicom, as he had thought that only the rights to home computer versions had been signed. Belikov originally claimed Bullet-Proof Software had released the game without a contract, but Rogers explained that he had acquired the rights from Atari Games, who had acquired the rights from Robert Stein.

After learning of the complex licensing agreements, Belikov sought to regain the rights and obtain more financially lucrative contracts. During this period, Rogers befriended Tetris creator Alexey Pajitnov, and Pajitnov supported Rogers during the contract negotiations. Belikov proposed that Stein's console and handheld licenses would be canceled and Nintendo would be granted the rights to Tetris for both consoles and handheld systems. Rogers flew to the United States so that he could get Nintendo of America to sign the contracts. Nintendo of America president Minoru Arakawa and its lawyer Howard Lincoln signed the contracts, as did Belikov, Rogers, and Stein. The latter hadn't read the contract fully and hadn't noticed the section that defined a computer as a machine with a monitor and a keyboard.

Company formation

In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. Elorg became a private company, still managed by Nikolai Belikov, while Henk Rogers helped Alexey Pajitnov and his family immigrate to the United States.

When the Tetris rights expired in 1995, Elorg purchased half of the rights to the game, while Pajitnov and Rogers purchased the other half. In 1996, Henk Rogers founded Blue Planet Software in Honolulu, Hawaii, as the successor of Bullet-Proof Software and the exclusive agent for the Tetris brand.

In 1996, The Tetris Company was formed by Rogers and Pajitnov to hold their rights to Tetris and to take the role of the exclusive licensor of the brand. In 2005, Elorg sold the other half of the Tetris rights to The Tetris Company.

Blue Planet Software

In 1996, Henk Rogers formed Blue Planet Software Inc. in Honolulu, Hawaii.

On March 31, 2001, Bullet-Proof Software closed, and the rights to the name and software were transferred to Blue Planet Software.

In October 2020, Blue Planet Software was absorbed into The Tetris Company.

Games by Bullet-Proof Software

Title	System	Release	Notes
The Fire Crystal	FM-7, MSX, PC-8801, PC-9801, X1	1984
Dimensional Fighter Epsilon3	PC-8801	1985
The Black Onyx	Famicom, FM-7, GBC, MSX, MZ, PC-6001, PC-8001, PC-8801, PC-9801, SG-1000, X1	1986
Archon: The Light and the Dark	Famicom, FM-7, PC-8801, X1	1986	Published by BPS. Developed by Free Fall Associates. Famicom port by BPS.
Lyrane	FM-7, PC-8801	1987	Published by BPS. Developed by Glodia.
M.U.L.E.	MSX, PC-9801, X1	1987	Published by BPS. Developed by Ozark Softscape.
Go: 9 Row Grid Board Game	Famicom	1987
Tetris	Famicom, FM-7, MSX, PC-8801, PC-9801, X68000, X1	1988
Hatris	Arcade, Game Boy, NES, PC Engine, PC-9801, Wizard	1990
Pipe Dream	Famicom, Game Boy, PC-9801, PC-9801, Super Famicom, X68000	1990	Published by BPS. Developed by The Assembly Line. Super Famicom port by BPS and Tose.
Battle Storm	Famicom	1991
Deflektor	PC-8801, PC-9801, X68000	2004	Published by BPS. Developed by Vortex Software.
Faceball 2000	Game Boy, SNES	1991	Published by BPS in North America. Developed by Xanth Software F/X.
Tetris 2 + BomBliss	Famicom	1991	Published by BPS. Developed by Chunsoft.
Welltris	Arcade, PC-9801	1991	Published by BPS. Developed by Doka and Video System.
Super Tetris 2 + BomBliss	Mac OS, PC-9801, Super Famicom, Super Famicom Box, Windows 3.1	1992	Super Famicom version co-developed by Tose.
Spot	Super Famicom	1992
Super Demon World War! Dorabo-chan	Super Famicom	1993	Published by BPS. Developed by Red Company.
Tetris Battle Gaiden	Super Famicom	1993
True Golf Classics: Wicked 18	SNES	1993	Published by BPS on SNES in North America. Developed by T&E Soft.
Yoshi's Cookie	SNES	1993	SNES port developed and published by BPS. Originally developed by Tose.
Michael Andretti's Indy Car Challenge	Super Famicom	1994	Published by BPS. Developed by Genki.
Obitus	SNES	1994	Published by BPS. Developed by Scenario Developments.
Shutokō Battle '94: Drift King	Super Famicom	1994	Published by BPS. Developed by Genki.
Super Tetris 2 + BomBliss: Limited Edition	Super Famicom	1994	Co-developed with Tose.
Super Tetris 3	Super Famicom	1994	Published by BPS. Developed by Tose.
Tetris Flash	Super Famicom	1994	Published by BPS. Developed by Nintendo R&D1 and Tose.
WildSnake	Game Boy, SNES	1994	Produced by BPS. Developed by: Manley & Associates and Realtime Associates.
Super Magic Continent Wozz	Super Famicom	1995	Published by BPS. Developed by Red Company.
Super BomBliss/Tetris Blast	Game Boy	1995	Co-developed with Tose.
V-Tetris	Virtual Boy	1995	Published by BPS. Developed by Locomotive.
Matsukata Hiroki's World Fishing	PS1	1996	Published by BPS. Developed by Tose.
Shutokō Battle: Drift King	PS1	1996	Originally published by BPS on PS1. Developed by Genki.
Star Wars: Rebel Assault II	PS1	1996	Published by BPS on PS1 in Japan. Developed by LucasArts.
Tetris	Data Zapper: Model M7000	1996	Tetris licensed by BPF and Elorg. Developed by Mani Technology.
Tetris S	Sega Saturn	1996	Published by BPS. Developed by UNiT.
Tetris X	PS1	1996	Published by BPS. Developed by Yuke's.
Star Wars: Dark Forces	PS1	1997	Published by BPS on PS1 in Japan. Developed by LucasArts.
Ballblazer Champions	PS1	1998	Published by BPS in Japan. Developed by Factor 5.
Herc's Adventures	PS1	1998	Published by BPS on PS1 in Japan. Developed by Big Ape Productions and LucasArts.
Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi	PS1	1998	Published by BPS on PS1 in Japan. Developed by LucasArts.
Super BomBliss DX	Game Boy Color	1998	Co-developed with Tose.
Tetris 4D	Dreamcast	1998	Published by BPS. Developed by Yuke's.
The Next Tetris	PS1	1999	Published by BPS on PS1 in Japan. Developed by Blue Planet Software.
The Tetris	PS1	2000	Tetris licensed by BPF and The Tetris Company. Developed by Success.

Games by Blue Planet Software

Title	System	Release	Notes
Kids Tetris	Windows	1999
The Next Tetris	Nuon, PS1, Windows	1999
The Next Tetris: On-Line Edition	Dreamcast	2000
Tetris Worlds	GameCube, PS2, Windows, Xbox	2001	Windows version developed by Blue Planet Software. Co-ported to GameCube, PS2, and Xbox by Radical Entertainment.
Barbie: Team Gymnastics	Windows	2002
Deflektor	Windows	2004	Published by Blue Planet Software. Developed by Vortex Software.
Tetris Splash	Xbox 360	2007	Tested by Blue Planet Software. Developed by Tetris Online.
Tetris Party Deluxe	Nintendo DS, Wii	2007	Tested by Blue Planet Software. Developed by Hudson Soft.

Games by The Tetris Company

Title	System	Release	Notes
Russian Block Game Handheld Game Console	LCD console	2023	Distributed at McDonald's restaurants in China.