Tetris in the sky: Red Bull is turning Dubai Frame into a giant game screen

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Tetris goes global — and lands in Dubai

Red Bull is bringing the first Red Bull Tetris World Final to Dubai, and it is not subtle about it. From 11–13 December 2025, national champions from 60 countries will battle it out for a single world title, ending with a live Tetris match played in the sky above the Dubai Frame using thousands of drones.

• Dates: 11–13 December 2025
• Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Format: global finals after mobile and PC qualifiers
• Scope: national winners from 60 countries
• Finale: live Tetris game played with 2,000 drones near the Dubai Frame

The tournament is the climax of a months-long run of qualifiers that started on players’ phones, moved to PC-based national finals, and now ends under the desert sky. For Dubai, it is another high-profile esports moment that sits neatly alongside the city’s push into gaming and live events, from cosplay mega-shows in Abu Dhabi to board game conventions like tabletop.me’s tabletop mega-fest in Dubai.

How the Red Bull Tetris World Final actually works

This is not a casual “one more round before bed” situation. By the time players reach Dubai, they have already survived mobile qualifiers and national PC finals to earn the right to represent their country.

• Qualifiers started on mobile, with millions of gameplays logged.
• National Finals took place on PC, producing 60 champions.
• In Dubai, players face a full day of matches at Terra Solis in the desert.
• They first play seeding rounds, then move into 1v1 semi-finals.
• The top two reach the winner-takes-all final on 13 December.

In Dubai, all 60 national winners head to Terra Solis, where the tournament plays out on PC across a full day of seeding matches and knockout games. Once the bracket spits out two finalists, everything moves towards the main stage moment on 13 December — a head-to-head match where only one player walks away as the first Red Bull Tetris World Champion.

If you follow other tournaments like PUBG MOBILE PMNC 2025 Fall in MENA, you’ll recognise the same “national pride meets regional spectacle” energy, just wrapped around a 40-year-old puzzle game instead of a battle royale.

A UAE-based student carries the host nation’s hopes

One of the more interesting stories in the line-up is the UAE representative. The local slot is held by 21-year-old Chingun Bilguunsaikhan, a Mongolian student living in Dubai.

• Represents: United Arab Emirates
• Nationality: Mongolian
• Age: 21
• Based at: Tetr College of Business, Dubai
• Degree: Business Management and Technology
• Long-time Tetris fan, drawn to its strategy and calming rhythm

Chingun earned his place the hard way: first through mobile play, then by winning the UAE’s national PC final. According to the organisers, he has been into Tetris since he was a kid, hooked on the mix of pattern recognition and focus.

Now he gets to test all that against 59 other champions on a world stage in his current home city — a neat local angle for anyone in the UAE who usually only sees these tournaments happen abroad or in places like Riyadh’s Esports World Cup opening ceremony.

4,000 drones, Dubai Frame and Tetris in the sky

Let’s be honest: the bit everyone will share on social media is the drone Tetris game. The finale doesn’t just project the game on a screen; it uses drones as the screen.

• Final clash: played using 2,000 airborne drones.
• Total show scale: over 4,000 drones across the visual programme.
• Location: in the sky, framed by the Dubai Frame.
• Claim: first official live playable Tetris game in the sky.
• Drone provider: Lumasky, known for record-breaking drone shows worldwide.

Lumasky, a major name in drone light shows, is handling the tech that turns the Dubai sky into a playable canvas. Across the weekend, more than 4,000 drones will be used for visuals and sequences, with 2,000 of them dedicated to the live final match.

The Dubai Frame — already a symbol tying together the city’s past, present and future — becomes a literal frame for the match, giving Dubai another signature “you had to be there” skyline moment alongside its big music, anime and gaming events across the UAE.

Why Dubai cares: esports, tourism and “future city” branding

The Red Bull Tetris World Final is not just a cool one-off activation. It fits a much bigger plan. Dubai has been very clear that it wants a year-round esports and gaming ecosystem, not just a festival week.

• Dubai is using its high digital engagement to bring in global gaming events.
• The city wants to build a year-round esports calendar, not just seasonal tournaments.
• The event supports the UAE’s Year of Community, focusing on social connection.
• Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) is a strategic partner on the event.
• The Dubai Frame backdrop underlines the city’s “past–present–future” narrative.

DET’s role is to position Dubai as both a tourism magnet and a serious business hub. World-class gaming and pop culture events — from this Tetris final to big anime weekends like Animenia Abu Dhabi 2026, — help keep the city and the wider UAE on that global map. For Dubai, stitching together culture, competition and tech-heavy spectacles like drone shows is a way to attract visitors, investments and talent, while giving residents more to do than just mall runs and brunch.

What Red Bull and Tetris are changing in the game itself

This is not “classic Tetris, but on a bigger screen”. Red Bull Tetris adds new mechanics to keep matches short, sharp and brutal for even experienced players.

• New power-ups change how pieces behave.
• Gravity shifts and speed boosts push players to react faster.
• A special Golden Tetrimino adds a high-risk, high-reward element.
• Rounds are time-limited, forcing aggressive strategies.
• Designed to stress adaptability, not just pure stacking skill.

The result is a version of Tetris tuned for spectators. Instead of long survival marathons, players have to adapt instantly to shifting rules, sudden speed jumps and special pieces.

For a game created in 1984, it’s a sign of how far Tetris has travelled: from monochrome blocks on a Soviet computer to a drone-powered esports show in one of the world’s flashiest cities. Even Alexey Pajitnov, the creator of Tetris, has called seeing the game played with drones one of his long-held dreams, and this event is where that finally happens.

FAQ

If you’re into games, drones or just strange new ways to light up the Dubai skyline, this one is going to be hard to ignore.

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