Claude Code's new rule: no remakes of existing games, "even if it is renamed"
SummaryAnthropic added two sentences to Claude Code's prompt on Opus 5.5 that steer it away from recreating someone else's specific game. Original and genre games are still allowed.
· MODEL Editors · 2 min read
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Around October 27, Claude Code picked up a new instruction, delivered from Anthropic's servers under a configuration flag called tengu_heron_brook. X user @chasmmmmmmmmmmm spotted it first. The full rule:
Do build original games, games in a genre, and games from the user's own designs and assets. Do not build a recreation of a specific existing game, even if it is renamed or called original.
The last part is the funny bit. Someone at Anthropic clearly expected the "it's a different name, so it's original" move.
Anthropic confirmed it. On October 30, Anthropic's Addy Osmani replied on X: "We 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." He said original games, genre games and games built from your own designs and assets are meant to keep working, that Anthropic will keep adjusting the balance, and that people whose own projects get turned down can send them to him.
What still works. Per Anthropic, a racing game or a block-building game in general is fine. A remake of one specific existing game is what the rule targets. XDA Developers says it found the same text inside version 2.1.314 of the Claude Code binary, and that in its tests Opus 5.5 refused a request to recreate a specific existing game and cited its session instructions. XDA also notes the rule doesn't appear to ban decompilation or static recompilation projects outright, and that it's not yet clear how widely the instruction is deployed.
Why it happened. PC Gamer ties the change to weeks of complaints about cloned, AI-made games flooding Steam. Critics point out the obvious limit: Claude can't check whether you actually own the game or the assets you describe, and locally run models don't carry the rule at all.
The robot in our cartoon is a joke. The rule text is real.
Sources: Addy Osmani on X (October 30, 2026), Game Developer, XDA Developers, PC Gamer. Not sponsored; no affiliate links.
MODEL Editors
Sources
- Addy Osmani (Anthropic) confirms the change on X (Oct 30, 2026)
X
- Anthropic tells Claude to stop remaking video games
Game Developer
- Anthropic seems to be testing a potential crackdown on vibe-coded ports of existing games
XDA Developers
- Anthropic updates Claude to 'steer it away' from letting users clone games
PC Gamer
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