Claude refuses to recreate existing video games: Anthropic confirms the rule and developers report blocks
Redacción IvokaNov 1, 6:00 PM 3 min
Anthropic added two sentences to Claude Code's prompt on Opus 5.5 to stop it from copying someone else's specific game. Some developers say it also affects their own work.
If you use AI to code or to make games, it is worth knowing that Claude Code now has an explicit rule against recreating other people's games.
What happened
- Users spotted a new rule in Claude Code: do not build a recreation of a specific existing game, even if it is renamed or called original.
- Addy Osmani, a member of Anthropic's technical staff, confirmed that two sentences were added to Claude Code's prompt on Opus 5.5 to steer it away from recreating someone else's specific game, because using Claude to infringe IP is against its usage policy.
- The change follows weeks in which Steam was flooded with AI-made games and complaints from the development community. According to PC Gamer, several studios canceled public demos for fear their code would be copied.
The open questions
- Game Developer notes it is unclear how the software would know whether a user owns a game idea or its assets.
- Tom's Hardware reports that many developers say Claude refuses to work on their own projects.
What to do
If your project is original, describe your idea with your own rules, characters and art instead of asking for "a game like X". If you make games, this also marks a clear limit: AI can help you create your own, not clone others'.
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