Developers say Claude Code is blocking game recreation work
One developer has appealed after reporting refusals on commissioned projects. Anthropic has not confirmed whether a game-specific restriction exists.
Complaints posted by developers on GitHub describe Claude Code rejecting game recreation tasks since late October, including work they argue is authorized. Anthropic has announced no related policy revision, and the tool’s changelog contains no corresponding entry.
An issue posted on 30 October by the owner of Conflict Simulations LLC attributed the problem to a server-side instruction reportedly introduced around 27 October. The business creates customized digital adaptations of board wargames for customers who own those games.
The owner subsequently explained that coding initially continued despite the reported instruction. Rejections started after the developer asked Claude to assess whether the restriction covered those projects. Opening fresh sessions with the same code did not resolve the problem, the developer said.
According to the owner, Anthropic’s support bot described the policy as universal, without exceptions for customers. Two tickets were referred to staff, and the owner appealed, seeking a way for professionals to verify legitimate work. A commenter challenged that position, arguing that ownership of a game does not make an adaptation commissioned by its owner equivalent to work authorized by its rights holder.
Other complaints concerned cybersecurity safeguards rejecting anti-cheat development and a review of a developer’s own game for security issues. Tom’s Hardware cautioned that those blocks might be unrelated to the reported recreation restrictions. Anthropic has not confirmed the existence of a game rule or said whether exemptions would be available.
