Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has officially been disqualified from the Indie Game Awards 2025 after developer Sandfall Interactive confirmed the game’s use of generative AI in its development. Six One Indie, the creators of the Indie Game Awards, announced that this use of generative AI has disqualified Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from receiving the two awards it won during the show on December 18, which will now go to the runners-up.
Use of generative AI in game development has been a hot topic as of late, with Game of the Year 2023 winner Baldur’s Gate 3‘s developer, Larian Studios, recently coming under fire for its use of AI in the development process of its recently announced game Divinity. The topic of AI in game development has left the industry split, with some developers, such as Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Director Daniel Vávra, coming out in support of Larian’s use of AI in its conceptual phase of development. Meanwhile, other industry veterans like Bruce Staley, co-director of The Last of Us, have taken a stance against the use of AI to create game art, a sentiment shared by the team at Six One Indie that led to the disqualification of Expedition 33 from the Indie Game Awards.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Gets Disqualified from the Indie Game Awards Due to AI Use
In a statement posted to the Indie Game Awards FAQ page regarding Expedition 33‘s awards being retracted, Six One Indie takes a hard stance against the use of AI generation in game development, claiming that during the nomination process, Sandfall agreed that no gen AI was used in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. On the day of the Indie Game Awards showcase, December 18, Expedition 33 producer Francois Meurisse confirmed that the game had, in fact, used some generative AI during the development process, leading Six One Indie to retract the awards the game had won that night.
While Clair Obscur was initially awarded the Debut Game and Game of the Year awards, those were retracted following the confirmation that AI was used in its development. The runners-up for these awards were given the prize after this disqualification, with Sorry We’re Closed taking home the Debut Game award, and Blue Prince winning the Game of the Year award. The developers of these games, à la mode games, and Dogubomb, were invited to record acceptance speeches that will likely be published in early 2026.
The AI-generated assets in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 were used as placeholders and were eventually patched out of the game. However, this use still violates the rules put forth by the Indie Game Awards regarding AI use in games, making Expedition 33 ineligible to win. Despite its use of AI-generated placeholder assets, Sandfall has stated that it is firmly against “creative” AI being used to replace human-made art in game development.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Still Took Home a Record Number of Awards at The Game Awards 2025
- Game of the Year
- Best Game Direction
- Best Narrative
- Best Art Direction
- Best Music and Score (Lorien Testard)
- Best Performance (Jennifer English)
- Best Role Playing Game
- Best Independent Game
- Best Debut Indie Game
Even with the controversy surrounding its use of generative AI, Clair Obscur managed to set a record for most awards won at The Game Awards 2025, bringing home 9 total awards from its 12 nominations, including the coveted Game of the Year award. Many fans had predicted that the game would be a tough contender to beat at TGA 2025, but setting a new record is a far more notable feat than expected. In light of the revelations about Expedition 33‘s AI usage during development, the broader gaming industry is now at a crossroads with this technology and must learn how to cross a divide that can see a game win big despite using it, while still losing out because of the same AI tools.
