Anthropic Restricts Claude Code From Recreating Existing Games

Anthropic has added an instruction to Claude Code’s Opus 5.5 model telling it not to recreate specific existing video games, while permitting original games and projects based on users’ own designs and assets. The company says it will refine the restriction and has invited developers to report legitimate work that the tool refuses. The instruction, delivered through a server configuration identified as “tengu_heron_brook,” says not to build a recreation of a particular existing game, even if the user renames it or describes it as original. It also says users can build original games, games in a genre and projects from their own designs and assets. The change appeared around October 27, according to reports about the configuration. Addy Osmani, a member of Anthropic’s technical staff, confirmed that two sentences had been added to Claude Code’s prompt for Opus 5.5. Osmani said the aim was to steer the tool away from recreating someone else’s specific game because using Claude to infringe intellectual property violates Anthropic’s usage policy. The company said original and genre-based projects are meant to remain supported. A developer has reported that the restriction blocked...