Anthropic’s Claude Code Blocks Game Cloning, Affecting Legitimate Projects

Anthropic Claude Code Restricts Game Cloning and Reverse-Engineering

Users of Anthropic’s AI programming assistant, Claude Code, are reporting a new restriction that prohibits the recreation of existing video games, even if the developer renames them. This instruction reportedly comes directly from the company’s servers and cannot be disabled through settings. Initial complaints indicate that this ban might impact projects created with the permission of copyright holders or those involving legitimate reverse-engineering efforts.

According to user claims, the game-related textual rule instructs the model to avoid “recreating a specific existing game, even if it is renamed or called original.” This was later confirmed by Addy Osmani, a member of Anthropic’s technical staff, who stated, “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.”

Impact on Game Development and Cybersecurity

The restrictions extend beyond game cloning to tasks related to reverse-engineering. Developers are encountering refusals for standard work such as analyzing simple Windows crash dumps, clearing junkware on Samsung TVs, or using general reverse-engineering tools. Some reports even suggest that Claude has blocked the development of anti-cheat systems and security reviews for proprietary games, citing triggered safeguards.

These changes coincide with Anthropic’s introduction of its Cyber Verification Program on October 6, which limits access to advanced cybersecurity capabilities of its frontier models to entities covered by Project Glasswing. It is possible that the ruleset applied for cybersecurity is the same one causing the game-related refusals, though the timing of widespread reports emerging weeks later has been noted.

Anthropic’s Motivations and Industry Reaction

The primary motivation behind these restrictions is likely Anthropic’s preemptive protection against potential lawsuits from software companies, including game studios. The industry has recently seen a surge in AI-powered clones of application suites like Adobe’s and Microsoft Office 365, as well as countless recomps and decomps of console games. This trend affects various AI applications, prompting companies to re-evaluate their policies.

The situation is exacerbated by the influx of “AI slop” on platforms like Steam Next Fest - low-effort, AI-assisted games that heavily imitate or directly copy existing titles. Developers have reported instances of extortion, where threats are made to clone their game demos into complete games before they can finish and release the original. This particularly impacts small studios.

Valve has acknowledged the problem of “AI slop” on Steam but is reluctant to resolve the issue by outright banning AI coding tools. Tom Giardino of Valve stated that the company does not want to be “gatekeepers telling developers which tools they should or shouldn’t use.” Instead, Valve aims to make Steam a “smarter and more dynamic platform” and advised developers to make their games harder to copy by adding unique features, personality, and creativity.

Anthropic’s Official Stance

While Anthropic has not issued a formal press release on these specific changes, Addy Osmani clarified that “original games, genre games, and games built from your own design are meant to keep working. We’ll continue to iterate to ensure that we’re striking the right balance. In the meantime, if Claude turns down something that’s yours, send it my way.”