Anthropic updates Claude Code prompt to block video game clones
Anthropic has modified Claude Code's system prompt to prevent users from recreating specific existing video games, citing IP infringement policies, while still allowing original game development.
US-based AI company Anthropic has updated the system prompt for its coding tool, Claude Code, to explicitly prevent it from being used to recreate specific existing video games. The change was confirmed by Anthropic engineer Addy Osmani on November 2, 2026, aiming to curb growing issues with AI-generated game infringement.
Osmani stated that two key sentences were added to the prompt for the Opus 5.5 model: “Do build original games, games in a genre, and games from the user’s own designs and assets. Don’t build a recreation of a specific existing game, even if it is named or called original.” This follows reports from Tom's Hardware and screenshots shared by users on social media highlighting the new restrictions.
While direct cloning is blocked, Anthropic emphasized that users can still create original games, work within specific genres, or use their own assets. Osmani noted that this aligns with the company's broader usage policy against intellectual property infringement. He indicated that Anthropic would continue to iterate on these guidelines to balance creative freedom with legal compliance, inviting users to report false positives where the AI refused legitimate requests.