Anthropic has confirmed that Claude Code now includes additional safeguards intended to prevent users from recreating specific video games. The change affects the Opus 5.5 model and follows complaints from developers who say the assistant has also begun refusing some reverse-engineering requests.
Addy Osmani, an Anthropic employee, said the company added two sentences to Claude Code’s prompt for Opus 5.5. According to Osmani, the wording is intended to steer the model away from reproducing another party’s specific game because using Claude to infringe intellectual property violates Anthropic’s usage policy.
Osmani added that Claude should still support the development of original games, including games within an existing genre and projects based on a user’s own designs and assets. He also said Anthropic is continuing to adjust the rules in an effort to find an appropriate balance.
The exact wording of the new prompt additions has not been confirmed. However, a screenshot shared by an X user may reflect the policy change, stating that Claude can create original games and genre-based projects but should not recreate a particular existing game, even if it is renamed or presented as an original title.
Reports from Claude Code’s GitHub repository describe users being refused assistance with game development and reverse-engineering work. Available reports suggest that the game-related restrictions may be limited to Claude Code when paired with Opus 5.5, although the information does not establish whether other access methods are affected.
Users have also described new refusals involving reverse engineering. Jarred Walton said software checks he had previously performed without difficulty stopped working on October 31, while switching to Opus 4.8 allowed him to continue. Another reported case involved an Opus 5.5 request, made through Claude Code, to reverse engineer a product activation; that request reportedly triggered the system’s safeguards.
Additional reports claim that a Reddit user’s account was suspended and later reinstated after using Opus 5.5 for a reverse-engineering task. These accounts have led to speculation that Anthropic may be adjusting cybersecurity-related restrictions alongside the rules concerning game recreation.
Anthropic operates a Cyber Verification Program under which approved entities receive access to the full cybersecurity capabilities of its frontier models. The company has not publicly detailed the specific rules behind the reported refusals beyond confirming the changes related to recreating existing games.
Sources: Tom's Hardware.