Anthropic has updated Claude Code on its Opus 5.5 model to steer the AI tool away from recreating specific existing video games. The company confirmed that two sentences were added to the tool’s prompt after reports of a new rule appearing around October 27.
The guidance says Claude should build original games, games within a genre and projects based on a user’s own designs and assets. It should not create a recreation of a specific existing game, even if the project is renamed or described as original. According to reports, users cannot disable the rule.
Addy Osmani, a member of Anthropic’s technical staff, said the change was intended to prevent Claude from being used to infringe intellectual property, which would violate the company’s usage policy. He added that original games and projects based on users’ own designs and assets should continue to work, and asked users to report cases in which Claude rejects something they own.
The update follows growing concern among independent developers about AI-generated clones reaching the market quickly. Digital Sun Games was among the studios that cancelled an upcoming public playtest over concerns that its demo could be processed by an AI tool and used to create another version of its upcoming game ReVamp. Developers have also asked Valve how it plans to stop clones from displacing original games on Steam.
The restrictions may not prevent every type of imitation. The report notes that safety measures in generative AI systems can sometimes be bypassed, while it may also be difficult for software to determine whether a user owns a particular game concept or set of assets. Some users have suggested that developers seeking fewer restrictions could instead use open-weight models without comparable safeguards.
Sources: Game Developer.