Anthropic’s updated Claude instructions restrict recreations of existing video games.
Anthropic has updated Claude to reject copies of specific video games while continuing to support original game development.
Anthropic has introduced Claude game restrictions that bar users from recreating specific existing video games with its AI assistant. However, users can still develop original games, including projects built around their own designs and assets.
The updated instructions also allow games within an established genre. But they prohibit recreating a particular title, even when a user renames it or describes it as original.
An X user first spotted the changes in Claude’s instructions. Addy Osmani, a member of Anthropic’s technical staff, subsequently confirmed the update on X.
Osmani said Anthropic wants to steer Claude away from copying someone else’s specific game. He explained that using the assistant to infringe intellectual property violates the company’s usage policy.
Claude game restrictions preserve original projects
Osmani also said the changes should not affect original games or genre-based projects. Games using a user’s own designs and assets should likewise remain unaffected. He added that Anthropic would keep refining its approach to strike the right balance.
Meanwhile, AI-assisted decompilation has helped fuel a surge in browser-playable fan projects based on major commercial games. Recent examples include Halo: Combat Evolved, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Grand Theft Auto V.
Anthropic has also faced legal challenges over copyrighted material used in AI training. Last year, it agreed to a $1.5 billion class-action settlement involving 500,000 authors who accused it of using copyrighted works.
More recently, the estate of Elvis Presley filed a lawsuit against Anthropic over similar copyright concerns.
