Anthropic Blocks AI from Cloning Video Games

The Era of AI-Generated Clones Nears an End

While the advancement of artificial intelligence has unlocked numerous opportunities, it has also created a serious problem for the gaming industry. Recently, platforms like Steam have seen an alarming rise in "AI slop"—low-quality, AI-generated game clones. In response, Anthropic has implemented significant changes to its AI assistant, Claude, to help curb intellectual property infringement.

New Rules for Claude

Effective October 27, an update from Anthropic explicitly prohibits the use of Claude to reproduce specific existing games. The system now includes a strict instruction: "Create original games, games within a genre, or games with the user's own designs and assets. Do not create a reproduction of a specific existing game, even if you rename it or refer to it as the original."

Addy Osmani, a member of Anthropic’s technical team, stated that this move was taken to ensure Claude is not used to violate the intellectual property of others. The company claims its goal is to balance creative freedom with copyright protection. Nevertheless, developers still have the ability to use AI to realize their own original ideas.

Why This Change Was Necessary

The issue became particularly acute following Steam Next Fest, when independent developers noticed their games—the result of months or years of work—being quickly and poorly "copied" by AI. Some studios were forced to cancel public demos and shift to closed testing to protect themselves from cloning.

Leading industry figures, including Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai, often refer to such AI-generated products as "low-quality goods." While some companies are attempting to fully integrate AI, others, such as Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney, have criticized platforms that require developers to disclose their use of AI.

What This Means for Gamers

Anthropic’s move sets an important precedent for how technology companies can take responsibility for the ethical use of their tools. While this will not entirely eliminate the problem of game cloning, it will significantly complicate matters for those attempting to profit from the work of others.

For users and independent developers, this news is a positive signal. When global platforms uphold copyright, it creates a healthier environment for the creative industry, where original ideas are protected from unauthorized copying. However, only time will tell how effective this mechanism will be in practice and how other AI model creators will respond.