Claude Code now refuses to recreate specific existing games, and some developers say legitimate work is getting caught.

Anthropic added two sentences to Claude Code's instructions for Opus 5.5 that steer it away from rebuilding someone else's specific game. The added rule says: "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 renamed or called original." The rule is sent from Anthropic's servers rather than shipped in an app update, and there's no setting to turn it off. Anthropic's Addy Osmani confirmed it on X, saying using Claude to infringe IP is against the usage policy and that "original games, genre games, and games built from your own designs and assets are meant to keep working" (Addy Osmani on X, Game Developer). He also said Anthropic will keep adjusting the balance and asked people to send him cases where Claude turns down something that's theirs. The pushback centers on an open GitHub issue from the owner of Conflict Simulations LLC, who builds digital versions of board wargames for the clients who own those games. They say Claude Code now refuses that work, and argue that "a blanket category rule against 'games' cannot tell the difference between piracy and commissioned professional work for a game's owner" (GitHub issue #106167). They're asking Anthropic to narrow the rule to actual infringement, add a way for professionals to get verified, and list changes like this in the changelog. According to TNW, the refusals began after the developer asked Claude whether the rule applied to the project, and they carried over into new sessions. Anthropic's support bot told the developer no exception applies, and the developer has appealed. The rule and the pushback have been widely covered since Friday (Wccftech).

What this means for you: if you're making your own game or something in a familiar genre, like a platformer or a survival game, this shouldn't affect you. Asking for a copy of a specific named game, even under a new name, will get refused. If Claude refuses work that's genuinely yours, Osmani has asked to hear about it directly, and the GitHub issue is where Anthropic is tracking feedback.