Activision and Bethesda Crack Down on Viral AI Fallout and Modern Warfare 2 Projects

Bethesda and Activision have moved against two fan projects that used generative artificial intelligence to adapt and reverse-engineer their intellectual property, targeting a browser-based Fallout project and an automated decompilation of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Kotaku reported that publishers are taking a "whack-a-mole approach" toward viral fan projects and decompilations powered by AI tools, using established copyright and trademark mechanisms against individual creators rather than pursuing broader legal challenges against AI model developers.

ZeniMax Halts Fallout: New York

The first action targeted Fallout: New York, a web browser project created by an X user known as ChrisFirst using Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5. ChrisFirst posted initial gameplay footage on September 28, 2026, which gained 3.5 million views on X.

The creator claimed the browser demo featured 117 locations, 112 characters, and 46 weapons without conventional media files, writing: "Quests. Dialogue trees. V.A.T.S. A working Pip-Boy. Zero texture files. Zero sound files. Every building, weapon, face and sound is generated by code." In an earlier post, ChrisFirst noted: "It's all free and I make 0 money on it. I hope they don't ask me to take it down. I really love Fallout and this was just a fun tech demo."

On October 1, ChrisFirst took the project offline after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media. The notice alleged copyright infringement and unauthorized trademark use connected to the fallout.nyc domain. Following the notice, ChrisFirst posted: "Hey, Bethesda Studios how about you make a Fallout game instead so I don't have to? Sorry to everyone who enjoyed the game! But the suits got involved and the fun is over."

Activision Targets Modern Warfare 2 Decompilation

Activision separately targeted an effort led by Maurice Heumann to decompile the PC source code of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. On September 30, Heumann announced: "With currently 17 agents working in parallel, we're making progress at an incredible pace. The game is fully playable now and almost all visible bugs are gone. Only a few are left."

Activision subsequently filed a copyright notice that disabled video footage Heumann posted to X, displaying the label: "This media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner." The link to the website hosting the decompiled code also became unreachable. It remains unconfirmed whether Heumann voluntarily removed the code repository or if the host disabled it following a takedown request.

Neither publisher has indicated whether it intends to pursue formal litigation beyond cease-and-desist letters and DMCA notices.