Tetris was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 2015. The Strong National Museum of Play established the hall in Rochester, New York, and announced its first six inductees that year.
Tetris joined Pong, Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., Doom, and World of Warcraft in the inaugural class. The selection recognized games that had maintained broad popularity and exerted lasting influence on the video game industry, popular culture, or society. Tetris qualified through its international reach, simple but deep design, and influence across arcade, computer, console, and handheld gaming.
The honor concerns the original game as a cultural and historical work, not one particular port such as the Game Boy edition. Tetris was created by Alexey Pajitnov in the Soviet Union in 1984–1985, then spread internationally through a complicated licensing history. Its 2015 induction came decades after its creation and reflects its long-term impact rather than a contemporary release award.