Anthropic adjusts Claude Code to discourage specific game recreations

Anthropic has changed Claude Code’s prompt on Opus 5.5 to steer it away from recreating someone else’s specific game. Confirmed on October 30, 2026, the change draws a distinction between copying a particular title and making original or genre-based games, which the company says it intends to keep supporting.

Addy Osmani, a member of Anthropic’s technical staff, said the company added two sentences to the prompt because using Claude to infringe intellectual property violates its usage policy. Game Developer reported that an Anthropic spokesperson directed the outlet to Osmani’s statement.

For developers using Claude Code, the stated policy is not a blanket retreat from game creation. Osmani said games built from users’ own designs and assets are also meant to remain supported. He said Anthropic would continue adjusting the behavior and invited users to send him examples of Claude refusing their own work. That leaves room for corrections rather than guaranteeing every legitimate request will succeed.

The announcement follows concerns about AI-assisted copying affecting how studios share unfinished games. On October 19, Game Developer reported that Digital Sun was narrowing testing for ReVamp amid AI-cloning concerns. In a public statement quoted by Game Developer, the studio said that exposing a large public build felt too risky with launch still months away at the time. That is context for the concern, not evidence that Claude copied ReVamp.

The important limit is that Anthropic has announced an intended behavior, not demonstrated its effectiveness. Osmani’s statement establishes the prompt change but does not show how reliably it prevents specific-game recreations. For now, the supported takeaway is narrower: Anthropic is trying to discourage that use without cutting off original game development.

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