Anthropic bars Claude from cloning commercial video games

Anthropic has introduced a policy shift that blocks Claude from cloning commercial video games. Updated directives now prohibit requests to replicate protected titles, with Claude Opus 5.5 and Claude Code receiving two mandatory system instructions: developers should create original titles using personal assets, and models must not replicate specific commercial games, even if titles are renamed.

The firm says the safeguards allow genuine creative homages while preventing infringements, and notes ongoing reviews to minimise misclassifications, according to engineering lead Addy Osmani, who confirmed the guardrails publicly on X.

Independent researchers conducted exploratory testing to delineate boundaries between functional mechanics and protected expression. In testing a Breakout-style variant, Claude reportedly produced a functional paddle-and-ball implementation, which the evaluators described as a general genre convention rather than a protected element.

The article also cites legal analysis suggesting that copyright protections cover distinctive artwork, music, and source code, but not abstract mechanics like certain gameplay concepts. It further discusses upstream liability mitigation for platform hosts and the potential evidentiary role of server logs in infringement cases, noting Anthropic’s prior copyright settlements and ongoing litigation considerations.

The piece frames the policy as a balance intended to support independent developers while reducing exposure to secondary copyright risks for the Claude platform.