Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 stripped of Game Of The Year award for using AI

The Indie Game Awards has retracted two awards from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, after the developers admitted to using generative AI.

The conversation around generative AI in games has been a big talking point over recent weeks, with Larian Studios coming under fire over its use of the tool for certain aspects of development.

Games like Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7 have been rightfully called out for using the tool to produce in-game assets, but the lines are murkier when applied to other aspects of game development, such as placeholder assets.

Several games have used generative AI to produce placeholder images or text which have been later patched out, like The Alters and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, but despite their removal one awards show has taken a hard stance on the matter.

The Indie Game Awards, which began last year, has stripped Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 of two awards, Game Of The Year and Debut Game, after Sandfall Interactive admitted it had used generative AI in development – despite denying so ahead of the show.

‘The Indie Game Awards have a hard stance on the use of gen AI throughout the nomination process and during the ceremony itself,’ an FAQ post reads explaining the decision. ‘When it was submitted for consideration, a representative of Sandfall Interactive agreed that no gen AI was used in the development of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

‘In light of Sandfall Interactive confirming the use of gen AI in production on the day of the Indie Game Awards 2025 premiere, this does disqualify Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from its nomination. While the assets in question were patched out and it is a wonderful game, it does go against the regulations we have in place.’

The IGAs Nomination Committee is officially retracting Debut Game and Game of the Year, awarding both categories to new recipients. Additionally, we are retracting one of the Indie Vanguard recipients.Full details can be found in our FAQ under Game Eligibility: http://www.indiegameawards.gg/faq

— The Indie Game Awards (@indiegameawards.gg) 2025-12-20T18:45:10.232Z

No matter how you feel about generative AI, it’s hard to dispute the decision if these are the rules in place for the event. Especially if Sandfall changed their story about whether it was used or not.

While Sandfall Interactive has not confirmed which assets were patched out in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, some players have highlighted in-game newspapers seen at launch as possible culprits.

As a result, the Indie Game Awards Nomination Committee has assigned new winners for each award, with Sorry We’re Closed winning Debut Game, while Blue Prince takes home Game Of The Year.

It remains to be seen if this conversation around AI could impact Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s chances at future award shows, like the BAFTA Game Awards in April next year.

Earlier this month, the French role-player picked up a record-breaking nine prizes at The Game Awards 2025, which doesn’t have any rules around AI use.

You can check out the full list of winners from the Indie Game Awards 2025, which took place on December 18, below.

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