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Anthropic stops Claude from recreating specific existing video games
Anthropic has updated Claude with new instructions telling it not to build recreations of specific existing games, even if they are renamed or called original, Engadget reported. Anthropic's Addy Osmani said the change steers Claude away from IP infringement, while original and genre games are unaffected.
Key points
- Claude's new instructions bar recreating specific existing games, even if renamed.
- Original games, genre games and games from users' own assets remain allowed.
- Anthropic's Addy Osmani cited its usage policy against IP infringement.
What happened: Anthropic has changed Claude so it will no longer help users make AI recreations of existing video games, Engadget reported. The change was first spotted by a user on X, who found new lines telling Claude to build original games, games in a genre and games from the user's own designs and assets, but not "a recreation of a specific existing game, even if it is renamed or called original."
The details: Addy Osmani, a member of Anthropic's technical staff, confirmed the change on X. He said the company wants to steer Claude away from recreating someone else's specific game "because using Claude to infringe IP is against our usage policy." He said original games, genre games and games built from a user's own designs and assets should be unaffected, and that Anthropic will continue to iterate to strike the right balance. Anthropic has not disclosed which Claude products or models are covered, or how the rule is enforced.
Background: Engadget said there has been a surge of AAA games being decompiled with the help of AI and made playable in browsers, citing fan projects based on Halo: Combat Evolved, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Grand Theft Auto V. Anthropic previously agreed to a $1.5 billion settlement in a class action in which authors accused it of training on copyrighted material, and the estate of Elvis Presley has since sued the company.
What to watch: Whether other AI coding tools adopt similar limits on copying existing products, and how strictly Claude applies the rule in practice.
Our take
Teams using Claude for game or app prototyping should expect refusals when a request closely copies an existing product and should brief it with original designs.