Anthropic's Claude Code and the Opus 5.5 model have reportedly begun to refuse some tasks related to copying video games and reverse engineering, according to a recent report.

The refusals may be linked to a new rule that tells the model not to recreate a specific existing game. An X/Twitter user known as Chasm shared the alleged rule's text, which reads, "Do build original games, games in a genre, and games from the user's own designs and assets. Don't build a recreation of a specific existing game, even if it is renamed or called original." Developers are also complaining on GitHub that Claude Code stops game-related work, including projects they say are their own. Some users say it also refuses generic tasks, such as analyzing a crash dump or using the Reverse Engineer Anything tool.

Anthropic has not made a standalone announcement, but Tbreak reports that the company confirmed the change through a statement by one of its staff members. Two sentences were added to the Claude Code prompt on Opus 5.5 to steer it away from recreating other people's games, and the company says it will keep adjusting the balance. Original games, genre games, and projects made from the user's own designs and assets should still work.

The change comes as more AI-made game clones appear on Steam; for example, Steam Next Fest was reportedly flooded with them.

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