Tetris Effect Connected

As in the original Tetris game, the player must place tetrominos into a playfield to create complete lines, which are then cleared from the playfield. Tetris Effect adds themes and music across thirty different stages with gameplay tied to the beat of the music. A new "Zone" mechanic allows players to "stop time", allowing the player to clear more than four lines at once, not possible in conventional Tetris games. The game also includes a meta-game leveling system that leads to new challenges for players as they progress.

Tetris Effect has been in development since 2012, and is inspired by the phenomenon of the same name, where after playing Tetris for a long period of time, players would continue to see falling Tetris blocks for some time after quitting the game. Co-producer Tetsuya Mizuguchi had wanted for many years to produce a music-based game around Tetris, but its licensing had been held by Electronic Arts, making it difficult to use. Around 2012, Mizuguchi began discussing with Henk Rogers, the founder of The Tetris Company which now owns the rights to Tetris, about developing a version of Tetris set to music with a "zone" that players would achieve while playing, leading to the start of the game's development. The game was released on November 9, 2018, on PlayStation 4 compatible with the PlayStation VR headset. A Microsoft Windows version, with support for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR systems, launched exclusively on the Epic Games Store July 23, 2019, followed by Oculus Quest on May 14, 2020.

A version for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and Windows 10 via the Microsoft Store was announced on July 23, 2020. Titled Tetris Effect: Connected, it was released on November 10, 2020, and was also made available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers at launch. This version includes a new cooperative multiplayer mode, as well as the new competitive mode that pays homage to the first console versions of Tetris with its simplified visual style and stricter rules similar to those used during the Classic Tetris World Championship. Connected was released on Steam on August 18, 2021, and was made available as the free multiplayer expansion for existing PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR, Epic Game Store and Oculus Quest versions on the same day. The Nintendo Switch port was released on October 8, 2021, the same day the console's OLED model was released.

Upon launch day, Tetris Effect was met with "critical acclaim" with many critics praising new game modes, the soundtrack, the visuals, and VR integration, with some critics calling it as a fitting love letter to Tetris.

The game won the award for "Best VR/AR Game" at the 2018 Game Critics Awards. It was nominated for the same category at The Game Awards 2018, and won both the Coney Island Dreamland Award for Best Virtual Reality Game and the Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game at the New York Game Awards. E. Awards.