Claude Code won't clone existing games. Here's what still works

Since late October, people making games with Claude Code have noticed it declining some requests. On October 30, 2026, Anthropic confirmed why: it added two sentences to Claude Code's instructions on Opus 5.5 to stop it from building clones of specific existing games. Videos about Claude Code game clones are calling it a game ban in several languages. It isn't. Here is what changed, what still works, and how to ask.

Not a game ban: a clone ban

A member of Anthropic's technical staff explained it publicly, and Anthropic's spokespeople pointed to that statement: "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. Original games, genre games, and games built from your own designs and assets are meant to keep working."

The rule behind it already existed. Anthropic's Usage Policy forbids using Claude to "infringe, misappropriate, or violate the intellectual property rights of a third party". A game, with its name, characters, art, music and levels, is someone's intellectual property.

We found no note about it in Claude Code's changelog or documentation, so we call it confirmed rather than announced.

What still works

Anthropic says these are meant to keep working:

• Original games: your own idea, rules and story.
• Genre games: a platformer, a puzzle game, a roguelike, a card game.
• Games from your own designs: art and assets you made or own.

In other words, "a platformer where a cat collects fish" is fine. Copying the mechanics of a genre is how most games are made.

What's out

Asking for a copy of one specific existing game is out, under any name. Calling it "original" or changing the title doesn't help: a renamed copy of a particular game is still a copy of it.

Some articles add that Claude Code now refuses reverse engineering. Anthropic hasn't said that. Some users report refusals, but there is no official announcement of a ban, so treat those reports as unconfirmed.

How to ask so Claude Code builds your game

Put three things in your first message:

• Name the genre: a platformer, a puzzle game, a card game.
• Add your twist: your own rules, names and story.
• Use your own art, or ask for simple shapes that Claude draws in code.

A first message like "Build a browser puzzle game where you rotate pipes to bring water to plants. Ten levels, getting harder, simple shapes, my own names for the levels" gives Claude Code everything it needs and nothing that points to someone else's game.

If Claude Code declines a request you think is original, say so in the next message and explain what is yours: the rules you invented, the names, the art. Drop any mention of an existing title as a reference ("like game X") and describe the mechanic instead ("jump between platforms, collect coins, avoid spikes"). Describing how a game plays is not the same as asking for someone else's game.

The change in one look

• Original or genre game: works, as before.
• Copy of a specific game: declined, even renamed.
• Reverse engineering: no official ban announced.

FAQ

Did Anthropic ban making games with Claude Code?

No. Anthropic says original games, genre games and games from your own designs and assets are meant to keep working. Only copies of specific existing games are declined.

Why does Claude Code refuse to clone a game?

Anthropic added two sentences to its instructions on Opus 5.5, because using Claude to infringe intellectual property is against its usage policy.

Is reverse engineering blocked in Claude Code?

Anthropic has not announced that. Some users report refusals, but there is no official ban.

Sources

• Anthropic Usage Policy
• Claude Code changelog