The Record You Thought Impossible: Tetris Is Beaten

They say that some games can never be finished. Well, it was almost a year ago that one of gaming’s most unexpected moments took place.

On December 21 2023, Willis Gibson achieved what was described as “beating” the game upon reaching stage 157 of the NES version of Tetris (released in 1989). At a very high level, the game starts displaying “glitchy” behaviours. It looks like the game cannot load data beyond stage 157 and crashes, making players consider it as the actual “ending” of Tetris (because nobody was supposed to reach that high level anyway, so the game could not handle it).

If that was not mind-blowing enough, you will be shocked to know that Gibson was only 13 when he achieved that. Yes, you read that correctly. Gibson quickly received worldwide praise, and even the CEO of the Tetris Company, Maya Rogers, released a congratulatory statement.

Similar occurrences have been noted in other “endless” games, such as Pac-Man. That game is known to display glitched graphics on stage 256, making the gaming community consider it the ending of Pac-Man, even though an actual, official ending is not programmed within the game.

The NES version that Gibson played is notable for being the version used in competitions by professional players all over the world. However, some modified versions are also used for competitions and challenges.

It was one of those versions used by another player, known as dogplayingtetris, with which he reached level 347 in October 2024. Looks like some people play games, while others just operate on a different, almost inhuman level. And you thought clearing three stages on Tetris made you a champion, right? And how many games did you finish when you were 13? It doesn’t matter, because it wasn’t Tetris that you beat. And probably it will never be (and that is fine).

Watch Gibson’s triumph here.