Anthropic Issues Claude Update in Attempt to Block Controversial AI Game Clones

Anthropic has issued an update for Claude that puts a stop to the AI-generated game clones that have filled platforms like Steam. The term 'AI slop' became especially prevalent in the gaming community after Valve launched Steam Next Fest earlier this month, as PC users complained their feeds were filled with low-effort clones of existing or newly demoed games. This situation prompted developers to cancel plans and led to calls for a solution from Valve itself.

Anthropic is cracking down on video game rewrites via an update to Claude Code, which included a new rule under the flag "tengu_heron_brook." The full rule states: “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.”

Anthropic confirmed this change by pointing to a post from technical staff member Addy Osmani: "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."

While the exact reason for Anthropic's change remains unclear, developers and gamers are likely to welcome the move, as it makes it harder to profit off the work of others using AI tools. The industry is currently struggling with how to manage artificial intelligence content, leading to varied reactions from figures like Epic Games’ Tim Sweeney and Super Smash Bros.' mastermind Masahiro Sakurai.