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# Anthropic tells Claude Code to stop recreating existing video games
- URL: https://www.skimwire.com/anthropic-claude-code-stops-recreating-video-games/
- Published: 2026-11-02T13:46:56.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-02T13:46:56.000Z
- Description: A new instruction steers Claude Code on Opus 5.5 away from cloning specific games. Original and genre games are meant to keep working, Anthropic says.
- Author: Skimwire Staff
- Tags: AI

## The skim

- Anthropic added two sentences to Claude Code's instructions on its Opus 5.5 model telling it not to build "a recreation of a specific existing game, even if it is renamed or called original."
- Original games, genre games and games built from your own designs and assets are supposed to keep working. Anthropic says recreating someone else's game would infringe IP, which its usage policy bans.
- The change follows a wave of AI-built clones and browser ports of big games that has rattled indie developers.

## What happened

Last week, X user Chasm spotted a new rule in Claude Code, Anthropic's AI coding agent, that they said was pushed around Oct. 27, [Game Developer reports](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/programming/anthropic-appears-to-have-ordered-ai-tool-claude-to-stop-remaking-video-games?ref=skimwire.com). Listed under the internal name "tengu\_heron\_brook," it reads: "Do build original games, games in a genre, and games from the user's own designs and assets. Do not build a recreation of a specific existing game, even if it is renamed or called original." Chasm said there's no way to turn it off.

Anthropic confirmed the change. Asked for comment, a spokesperson pointed Game Developer to an X post from Addy Osmani, a member of Anthropic's technical staff:

> "We added two sentences 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 our usage policy. Original games, genre games, and games built from your own designs and assets are meant to keep working. We'll continue to iterate to ensure we're striking the right balance."

He added: "In the meantime, if Claude turns down something that's yours, send it my way."

## Why now

AI coding tools have made cloning games startlingly easy. [Engadget notes](https://www.engadget.com/2303469/anthropic-updates-claude-to-stop-it-from-recreating-existing-video-games/?ref=skimwire.com) a recent surge of big-budget games decompiled with AI help and made playable in web browsers, including fan projects based on Halo: Combat Evolved, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Grand Theft Auto V.

Smaller studios are worried about something more immediate: a fast AI copy of their game reaching stores before the original does. Game Developer reports that Digital Sun Games is one of several studios that canceled public playtests for its upcoming game, ReVamp, out of fear someone would feed the demo into an AI tool. Developers have also pushed Valve to explain how it will stop clones from crowding out their games on Steam.

Anthropic already has a long history with copyright fights. Engadget points to its record $1.5 billion settlement last year with authors who said their books were used to train its models without permission, and to a newer lawsuit from the estate of Elvis Presley.

## Will it work?

Maybe not for long. Game Developer notes that safety limits on AI tools have repeatedly been sidestepped with clever prompting, and it's unclear how Claude would know whether you actually own a game's design or assets. Plenty of people replying to Chasm pointed out that open-weight models have no such rules.

The rule may also be catching more than games. [Tom's Hardware reports](https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/anthropic-confirms-new-claude-code-limits-to-prevent-game-cloning-users-report-opus-5-5-is-also-actively-blocking-reverse-engineering-tasks?ref=skimwire.com) that some users, including one of its own editors, say Claude Code on Opus 5.5 has also started refusing reverse-engineering tasks, and that switching to an older Claude model got the work done. Osmani's statement doesn't mention reverse engineering.

## What it means for you

If you use Claude Code to make games, original projects and genre riffs should be fine. Asking for a recreation of a particular commercial game, even under a new name, will likely get turned down. If Claude refuses work that's genuinely yours, Osmani has asked people to send him examples.

*Sources:* [*Game Developer*](https://www.gamedeveloper.com/programming/anthropic-appears-to-have-ordered-ai-tool-claude-to-stop-remaking-video-games?ref=skimwire.com)*,* [*Engadget*](https://www.engadget.com/2303469/anthropic-updates-claude-to-stop-it-from-recreating-existing-video-games/?ref=skimwire.com) *and* [*Tom's Hardware*](https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/artificial-intelligence/anthropic-confirms-new-claude-code-limits-to-prevent-game-cloning-users-report-opus-5-5-is-also-actively-blocking-reverse-engineering-tasks?ref=skimwire.com)*.*