Anthropic has adjusted Claude Code's internal instructions to restrict its assistance in helping users replicate a specific existing game. The changes were reportedly added around October 27 and were discovered by user Chasm on October 30 Pacific Time.
Anthropic engineer Addy Osmani confirmed that the company added two sentences to the internal prompts for Claude Code using Claude Opus 5.5. The adjustment was made because using Claude to infringe on intellectual property violates its usage policy. The new instructions rely on prompt engineering to refuse requests and do not weaken the model's inherent programming capabilities.
The new instructions still allow users to create original games, games of specific genres, and projects using their own designs and assets. However, even if users change the name or claim the work is original, Claude Code should not reproduce a specific existing game. Previously, some claimed to have reconstructed Terraria overnight using Claude Opus 5.5; Digital Sun Games canceled public testing of their in-development game Reshape due to concerns about imitation.
Users have reported that requests to digitize their own board games may also be rejected. Anthropic stated it will continue to adjust the balance, and whether these rules will impact game preservation, porting, and modding remains to be seen.