Anthropic has updated the system prompt for Claude Code to discourage users from recreating existing video games, The Verge reports. The change affects Claude Code running on the Opus 5.5 model.
Anthropicโ€™s Addy Osmani confirmed the update in a post on X, stating that the company “added two sentences to Claude Code’s prompt on Opus 5.5 to steer it away from recreating someone else’s specific game because using Claude to infringe IP is against our usage policy.” Osmani said that “original games, genre games, and games built from your own designs and assets are meant to keep working.”
A user on X had posted a screenshot allegedly showing the new prompt language: “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.” Osmani did not confirm that specific wording but acknowledged the substance of the change.
The update comes as AI-generated decompilations, recompilations and ports of retro games have proliferated, according to The Verge. Anthropic said it will continue adjusting the prompt to “strike the right balance” and asked users to report cases where Claude incorrectly rejects work on original content.