Alexey Pajitnov Net Worth: How Rich is Tetris Game Designer?

Alexey Pajitnov is a Soviet-born American video game developer and computer engineer. He is the creator, designer, and developer of the popular video game, Tetris. As of 2023, Alexey Pajitnov net worth is estimated to be around $20 million.

Who is Alexey Pajitnov?

Alexey Pajitnov is a video game designer and computer engineer from Moscow. He co-founded The Tetris Company along with Dutch video game developer, Henk Rogers in 1996. Pajitnov was working at the Dorodnitsyn Computing Center when he created the video game, Tetris in 1984.

Pajitnov was born in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR on April 16, 1955. He became a U. S. citizen after moving to the United States in 1991. His both parents were writers. His mom was a journalist and his dad was an art critic. Alexey gained exposure to the arts through his parents.

His parents divorced when he was 11. Then, he stayed with his mother for several years living in a one-bedroom apartment. Regarding his education, Pajitnov studied applied mathematics at the Moscow Aviation Institute.

Alexey Pajitnov Net Worth & Career

Following his graduation in 1979, he worked on speech recognition at the Dorodnitsyn Computing Centre. He became interested in computer games while working at the Computing Centre. Pajitnov was fascinated by computer games while serving at the Computing Centre.

Alexey used to play pentominoes when he was a small kid. He was inspired to create a game based on the concept of the pentominoes where he used to have difficulty in putting the pieces back in the box. He eventually started working on the first version of Tetris using an Electronic 60 in the computing center.

Pajitnov built the first prototype of the game in just two weeks. He completed the game on June 6, 1984. Though, the first version of the game didn’t have any levels or a scoring system. Later, the game attracted the interest of fellow programmer Dmitri Pevlovsky. Later, he took the help of a 16-year-old intern, Vadim Gerasimov, and created the PC version in less than 3 weeks.

Alexey later spent a few months adding new features like sound effects and scorekeeping. The game was made first available in the Soviet Union and then it appeared in the West in 1986. Later on, he created a sequel to Tetris calling it Welltris. In 1991, he moved to the United States together with Vladimir Pokhiko.

Pajitnov bonded with Henk Rogers and founded The Tetris Company in 1996. After that, he was allowed to collect royalties from the game. Then, he designed the game, Pandora’s Box and founded the 3D software company, AnimaTek along with Pokhiko.

Alexey also worked with Microsoft for nearly ten years from October 1996 to 2005. While working at Microsoft, he served on the MSN Games groups and the Microsoft Entertainment Pack: The Puzzle Collection. Pajitnov has been a part of the Apple TV+ biographical movie titled Tetris, which premiered on March 31, 2023.

Alexey Pajitnov’s Wife & Personal Life

Alexey Pajitnov is married to his wife named Nina. Together, they had two sons named Peter and Dmitir. His son, Dmitri lost his life in a skiing accident on Mountain Rainier in 2017. Pajitnov was earlier noted as a missing person after he didn’t come back. On February 9, 2018, his dead body was discovered and recovered.

Alexey Pajitnov Net Worth Timeline

Alexey Pajitnov has earned an estimated net worth of around $20 million as of 2023. The majority of his earnings come from his business and as a video game designer. The Tetris creator was named the fourth most influential computer game developer of all time by GameSpot in 1996. He also owns a house in Seattle and an apartment in Moscow, Russia.