The Indie Game Awards disqualified breakout RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from its Game of the Year and Debut Game categories due to generative AI use, as confirmed December 21, 2025—despite the assets being patched out post-launch. Honors reassigned to Blue Prince and Sorry We're Closed, fueling ongoing AI ethics debates in indie development.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a turn-based RPG from Montpellier-based Sandfall Interactive, launched in April 2025 to critical acclaim for its painterly visuals, tactical combat, and narrative depth. It sold 3.3 million copies by May, surpassing 5 million worldwide by October, and dominated The Game Awards 2025 with a record nine wins, including Game of the Year.
It initially triumphed at the Indie Game Awards ceremony on December 18, 2025, taking Game of the Year and Debut Game. However, organizers revoked both three days later, citing their strict no-generative-AI policy—even though a Sandfall submission had denied such use.
The studio later disclosed limited 2022 experiments with AI for placeholder textures, some of which evaded QA and appeared at launch before a five-day patch replaced them with human-created assets. Creative director François Meurisse acknowledged in a June 2025 El País interview: "We used some AI, but not much."
As covered previously, the decision—despite no final AI content—has ignited backlash over policy rigidity amid indie AI trends. French President Emmanuel Macron previously lauded the title as a national pride for France.