Following last week's revocation of its Indie Game of the Year award over AI use, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has sold over five million copies in 2025 amid heated industry discussions on AI's role in game development, disclosure rules, and award criteria.
As reported earlier in this series, the Independent Games Awards (IGA) revoked Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's top honors on December 21 after Sandfall Interactive confirmed limited generative AI use for 2022 placeholder textures, despite patching them out pre-launch.
The turn-based RPG, which swept nine categories at The Game Awards, continues to thrive commercially, surpassing five million sales in 2025. Producer François Meurisse noted AI's 'sparing' role, with all final assets human-made, but IGA prioritized its 'no-AI purity' rule.
The saga fuels wider debates. A Google Cloud survey shows 87% of developers using AI for planning and assets across regions like South Korea and the US. Steam requires AI disclosure, while Epic's Tim Sweeney deems it impractical given tools like Photoshop and Unreal Engine.
Critics decry AI's threat to creativity and data ethics, urging boycotts or labels. Proponents liken it to CGI's evolution—from Tron's 1982 skepticism to Hollywood staple—especially for resource-strapped indies. South Korea's indie association now embraces AI. Players are split, and award bodies face pressure for transparency or AI-specific categories.
