Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 No Longer Holds the Indie GOTY Title
The grassroots-funded Indie Game Awards has withdrawn its Game of the Year award from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 after developer Sandfall Interactive confirmed the use of generative AI during development. Awards organizer Six One Indie said the admission violated its strict no-AI policy, which applies to all nominated titles.
Following the decision, the awards reassigned both Game of the Year and Debut Game to the next highest-ranked entries. Blue Prince now claims Game of the Year. And, Sorry We’re Closed takes home the Debut Game award.
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: www.indiegameawards.gg/faq
— The Indie Game Awards (@indiegameawards.gg) 2025-12-20T18:45:10.232Z
In an official statement, the Indie Game Awards explained that it maintains a firm stance against generative AI in video games and discusses this position throughout the year when evaluating nominees. The statement noted that Sandfall Interactive had previously agreed that no generative AI was involved when submitting Expedition 33 for consideration. However, the developer later confirmed that this information was inaccurate. As a result, the nomination committee ruled that the game no longer met eligibility requirements and formally retracted both awards.
Community discussions on Reddit suggest that generative AI may have been used to create newspaper-style textures found within the game. These assets reportedly have since been removed.
Despite the Indie Game Awards reversal, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 remains one of the most decorated releases of the year. The French-developed RPG achieved major success at The Game Awards earlier this month during a record-breaking night. It secured wins for Best Indie Game, Best Debut Indie Game, Best Art Direction, Best Score, Best RPG, Best Narrative, Best Game Direction, and Best Performance, awarded to Jennifer English.
The game fell short in only two categories at The Game Awards. Battlefield 6 claimed Best Audio Design, while Wuthering Waves earned the player-voted Players’ Voice award.