Anthropic steers Claude Code away from recreating existing video games

Anthropic has added a server-side rule to Claude Code on Opus 5.5 telling it not to build "a recreation of a specific existing game, even if it is renamed or called original," while still allowing original games, genre games and games built from a user's own designs and assets. The rule, spotted by users around Oct. 27 under the flag "tengu_heron_brook," has no user toggle. Anthropic's Addy Osmani confirmed the change, saying using Claude to infringe IP violates its usage policy, as indie developers have pulled demos over fears of fast AI clones and some users report refusals on legitimate reverse-engineering work.