Claude's AI Starts Refusing to Assist with Pokémon ROM Hack and Fan-Game Dev

Anthropic's Claude has begun refusing to help develop gaming assets using certain intellectual property, notably Pokémon, affecting ROM hackers and fan-game developers; developer Big Kid Nation said Claude models are starting to refuse work on Pokémon fan projects. The article reports that Anthropic changed its rules around the end of October 2026, per a Tom's Hardware post, and that X user Chasm found language stating Claude doesn't and can't "recreate a specific game"; the change was not publicly announced. The author notes the best ROM hacks remain human-made and calls the shift a somewhat ethical approach to IP.