# Anthropic loosens Claude Code's rule against recreating existing games

> Original title: Anthropic has updated the language they added to stop Claude from recreating existing games, because the original wording started interfe...

- Source: Andrew Curran
- Published: 2026-11-04T21:16:32.000Z
- Bad Influence: https://badinfluence.news/items/zfa9cbmz6f3p83arhp7vdffts
- Original: https://x.com/AndrewCurran_/status/2118090040383254605

## Summary

Anthropic has updated Claude Code's rule against recreating existing games, which had interfered with legitimate projects, in version 2.1.317. Users can now name a game to describe the mechanics they want, and Claude should build an original game in that genre, offering a similar original if asked for a copy.

## Post

Anthropic has updated the language they added to stop Claude from recreating existing games, because the original wording started interfering with legitimate projects. As usual, the problem with new rules is how the model interprets them. The users word choice and phrasing, and what's already in the context window, can produce wildly different outcomes. OpenAI seems to sense an opportunity here and it looks to me like they are going to go wild west on Codex game development.

## Quoted post @addyosmani

> An update on building games with Claude Code:
> 
> Last week some of you ran into Claude Code pushing back on game projects it should have just built. We'd added a short rule to the Opus 5.5 prompt to steer Claude away from recreating specific existing games, but it was also kicking in when you referenced one just to describe the mechanics you wanted.
>  
> We've updated that rule in 2.1.317. You can name a game to describe what you want and Claude should now build an original game in that genre. If you ask for a copy of the original, it'll offer to build something similar instead.
>  
> We want Claude to be as helpful as possible when you're building something original, but also to protect your work if someone else tries to copy it. We'll keep improving this, so let us know if Claude turns down work that's yours. Thanks to everyone who shared feedback!

https://x.com/addyosmani/status/2117848568535106001