Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Disqualified from Indie Game of the Year Due to AI Issues

In just a week, Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 snagged the title of Game of the Year from both major award ceremonies. However, just two days after its latest accolade, the Indie Game Awards revoked its two wins due to the developer’s use of AI. A statement from the Indie Game Awards clarified their strict policy against generative AI in the nomination and award process. They noted that when Sandfall Interactive submitted the game, they confirmed that no generative AI was involved in its development. But after Sandfall acknowledged the use of generative AI on the day of the Indie Game Awards 2025, the game was disqualified from its nominations. Consequently, Blue Prince was named the new Game of the Year, while Sorry We’re Closed took home the Debut Game award, which Expedition 33 had previously won.

In a feature with El Pais in July 2025, producer François Meurisse mentioned, “We use some AI, but not much. The key is that we were very clear about what we wanted to do.” Following this, Sandfall Interactive issued a statement explaining that they had communicated with El Pais on April 25—three months before the article’s release. During those discussions, they clarified that they utilized a limited number of pre-existing assets, specifically 3D assets from the Unreal Engine Marketplace, none of which were created using AI. They also stated that the only AI-generated assets in the game were temporary placeholder textures that slipped through the QA process. Once identified, these were removed and replaced within five days.

Despite the controversy, Expedition 33’s popularity remains strong. French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Sandfall on their success at The Game Awards, which significantly boosted the game’s visibility on Steam and consoles. This surge in interest was likely further enhanced by the release of new DLC for Expedition 33 that launched right after the awards ceremony.