Tensions are high throughout Apple TV+'s Tetris, but all hell breaks loose in the movie's final moments. Henk Rogers (Taron Egerton) has just closed a major deal to distribute Tetris, and now has to leave Moscow ASAP before the KGB catches him. Throughout the film, the Russian security agency has had one goal in mind: to keep the rights for the video game developed by Alexey Pajitnov (Nikita Yefremov) within the Soviet Union. Since the dogged Rogers is on a mission to make Tetris a global hit--and will be that much closer to doing so when he boards a plane--the agents frantically pursue him in a nail-biting car chase.

　　Tetris is based on Rogers' real-life licensing of the video game, and the lasting friendship he built with Pajitnov along the way. Rogers, who is an executive producer on the project, said the trek to the airport was significantly condensed in the film. "It became much more exciting in the movie than it was real life," Rogers told GameSpot. But the Dutch game designer said the scene captured much of the emotions he and Pajitnov experienced. "We were very careful to make sure that the Soviet Union's accurately depicted," Rogers said. "If you can imagine going to North Korea today and trying to sneak into some ministry, I think that would put you in prison as a spy." The game designer said that was always in the back of his mind. "Alexey knew it was true, and we were taking big chances," he added.

　　Director Jon S. Baird recalled Rogers saying that Tetris "100% is true on an emotional level," and felt the line summarized the approach to the film. "He's basically saying we've represented his story and Alexey's journey correctly, but we've obviously had to add a bit of Hollywood in places," Baird said. He gave the example of the final climactic scene: "Certainly at the end, the rush to the airport, the car chase is a place where we did that."

　　Another pivotal moment in the film was Pajitnov being evicted from his home--and fired from his job--after it was revealed that he communicated with Rogers about the deal. Asked about whether these events were true, Pajitnov said, "There are lots of Hollywood exaggerations in such a movie, there are compromises." But the Tetris creator also said the scenes depict the burden he experienced. "Emotionally, all this Soviet Union part was very, very truthful because of the enormous pressure we would feel working at that time, with all this influence of Maxwell through the Communist Party." In the film, Robert Maxwell's (Roger Allam) company, Mirrorsoft, competed with Rogers to obtain Tetris' rights. Maxwell used his connection to Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev to influence the deal--though he was unsuccessful.

　　Rogers added another element that loomed over Pajitnov. "[Alexey's] father was a dissident and basically lost his career. Knowing that, he took this big risk," Rogers said. "At the same time, my risk was that I was going to lose all my property in Japan, or my in-laws' property."

　　And while doses of "Hollywood exaggerations" were sprinkled throughout the film, Baird said it contained the "big emotional beats." "With [Rogers] meeting Alexey and him discovering the game at the electronics fair," the director said, "they're very much as Henk told us." He added that how Rogers was treated by border guards upon arriving in Moscow was also close to reality. "But I think the key one for me is he makes a breakthrough with Alexey, when Alexey starts to accept him and is less suspicious of him," Baird said. "That's real Henk and Alexey's favorite scene."

　　In Tetris, Pajitnov was initially skeptical of Rogers' intentions. He tried to distance himself from the foreigner, but eventually welcomed him into his home. It's there that the two begin to form a connection and Pajitnov starts to consider the possibilities that Rogers was proposing for his game. "These guys have been friends now for over 35 years. That was a very important thing for the film, to show their friendship," Baird said. "Because ultimately, it's a Cold War thriller, fast-paced, fun movie. But it's also a buddy movie."

　　Rogers recalled the breakthrough moment in their friendship, when he and Alexey bonded over coding in real life. "We're both game designers, and we say don't underestimate the power of BASIC--that's when we smile, now we're talking about the same thing," Rogers said. "I do remember spending hours in Moscow talking about the future of Tetris not as a business but as a game design." In the film, there's a scene capturing the shift in their relationship as the two pore over lines of code together.

　　"That was the beginning of our friendship, which lasts till today," Rogers said. "If we're in the same area--every other day, bottle of wine."