ANTHROPIC BLOCKS CLAUDE FROM RECREATING EXISTING VIDEO GAMES

Anthropic has added a server-side instruction to Claude Code that blocks users from recreating specific existing video games. Users on X first spotted the flag, tengu_heron_brook, around 27 October in a Claude Opus 5.5 prompt. The two-sentence addition rejects requests that rename an existing title, while supporting original or genre projects built from a user's own designs and assets. Addy Osmani, a member of technical staff at Anthropic, confirmed the update on X on 30 October, saying the company wants "to steer it away from recreating someone else's specific game because using Claude to infringe IP is against our usage policy."

Anthropic delivers the rule remotely rather than via a software update, and users reported no local setting to disable it. Independent developers subsequently reported refusals on commissioned projects they say are legitimate. The operator of Conflict Simulations LLC, which produces personalised digital modules of board wargames for clients, filed a complaint over the restriction. The change follows a surge in fan projects using artificial intelligence to decompile AAA titles including Halo: Combat Evolved, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Grand Theft Auto V for browsers.

Osmani invited developers experiencing incorrect refusals to contact him and said Anthropic will "continue to iterate to ensure we're striking the right balance." The company previously faced copyright disputes when 500,000 authors brought a class action lawsuit accusing Anthropic of training models on their works. Anthropic agreed last year to pay a $1.5 billion settlement in that case. The estate of Elvis Presley also recently sued the company for similar reasons.