Viral sand Tetris game Setris was suspended for copyright infringement and reborn under a new name

The developer of Setris, a “Sand Tetris” game that had grown popular, reported on June 5 that they received a notice of copyright infringement from Tetris Holding. The game appeared to have been removed from itch.io on June 6, but on the very same day—and with almost no delay—the game was re-released on the same platform under a new name, Sandtrix. 

Setris is a puzzle game referred to as “Sand Tetris,” which was first released on May 17. The game involves stacking blocks of various shapes and colors, with the goal being to erase the blocks by connecting horizontal lines of matching color. The twist is that the blocks turn into sand and collapse when they are stacked. The sand follows the laws of gravity, and dropping a block onto a raised mound will cause it to spread out as if falls down the sides. In contrast, dropping a block into a valley will cause the sand to cluster together. 

The blocks come in four different colors, and when sand of a particular color is connected from one side of the screen to the other, it’s considered as having made a “horizontal line” and is erased. Players must take the behavior of the sand into account as they attempt to create strips of the same color and erase them.  

Although the game looks like Tetris, the gameplay and rules feel completely different. The visual spectacle of the blocks crumbling into sand and spreading around combined with the unique gameplay caused the game to go viral on social media.  

But on June 5, Setris received a notice of copyright infringement pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) that was issued by Tetris Holding, the copyright owners of the original Tetris. According to the takedown notice published on itch.io, Setris “trespasses on the copyrights in the Tetris game.” Specifically, they claim that Setris uses, without permission, the familiar Russian folk song that plays during Tetris. Tetris Holding is the owner of the sound trademark to the song throughout the world, including the U.S. It is indeed true that the well-known melody was used in the title screen song for Setris.  

Additionally, it is pointed out that the name Setris infringes on the Tetris name trademark. Tetris Holdings claimed that the title is nearly identical save for one letter, and as such, is likely to confuse consumers as to whether the company is affiliated with the game. They demanded that itch.io immediately remove or disable access to the game, and on June 6, Setris developer mslivo reported on the game’s official Discord server that the game had been removed from itch.io. It is unclear whether the game was withdrawn by itch.io or if it was the decision of mslivo.  

Meanwhile, mslivo released another game on itch.io that very same day called Sandtrix. Though it bears a different name and the title screen music has been changed, the game’s content is largely identical to that of Setris. The changes were likely made in an attempt to avoid the copyright issues that affected its predecessor. Sandtrix has received several updates (currently on ver1.4) which have brought gameplay improvements, an endless mode, and other additions.  

Although Setris received a DMCA takedown notice, likely for exceeding what can be regarded as a simple homage, it does not appear to have diminished mslivo’s desire to develop the game. Those who played Setris might also want to use this opportunity to revisit the game as Sandtrix. These events may also serve as a warning to anyone who wants to create a game based on Tetris, cautioning them to make sure that they don’t infringe upon the property’s name or music trademarks. 

Sandtrix is currently available for PC (itch.io), and can be played in your browser or downloaded under a Name your own price system.  

Written by. Marco Farinaccia based on the original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2023-07-03 18:12 JST)