The Indie Game Awards moved to rescind two major prizes from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 after organizers said the developer admitted to using generative AI in the game’s creation. Ceremony’s team, Six One Indie, says the decision came after the show was recorded and votes were already cast. According to the organizer’s public statement, representatives of Sandfall Interactive had originally asserted that no generative AI tools were used when the game was submitted for consideration but later confirmed otherwise on the day of the awards.
Six One Indie explained its rule set and rationale on its FAQ page; the organizer framed the use of generative AI as a disqualifying factor for nominations that had been made under a different representation. The statement says the admission removes Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from its nominations and that runner-ups will receive the trophies instead. You can read the organizer’s note on their FAQ page here. With the disqualification, the Debut Game award has been reassigned to Sorry We’re Closed, and Game of the Year is now listed as going to Blue Prince, per the ceremony’s update.
This move adds a new chapter to the wider conversation about how smaller awards handle emerging development tools. For context on the game’s recent profile, CPG previously covered Clair Obscur’s Best Independent Game win at The Game Awards earlier this month. Six One Indie closed its message by thanking the community for feedback and saying the team looks forward to next year’s show.
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
Developed by Sandfall Interactive
Lead the members of Expedition 33 on their quest to destroy the Paintress so that she can never paint death again. Explore a world of wonders inspired by Belle Époque France and battle unique enemies in this turn-based RPG with real-time mechanics.
- Genre: Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5
- Modes: Single player
- Release: 2025-04-24
- Publisher: Kepler Interactive
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Age Rating:
ACB MA 15+ / PEGI 18 / USK 16 / CERO Z / GRAC 19+ / CLASS_IND 18 / ESRB M
- IGDB Rating: 93.1/100
