Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 disqualified from the Indie Game Awards due to generative AI use. Read on to learn more about the disqualification and what fans think about the situation.
Expedition 33 Indie Game Awards Disqualification
Generative AI Used During Expedition 33 Production
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was disqualified from its Indie Game Awards (IGA) nominations due to its usage of generative AI. As announced by The Indie Game Awards on Bluesky on December 21, the Belle Époque-inspired RPG has been stripped of its Debut Game and Game of the Year wins.
In the video posted, Six One Indie co-founder and IGA creator Mike Towndrow strongly emphasized that the awards committee has a hard stance against gen AI. In terms of Expedition 33, he stated, "When it was submitted for consideration, a representative of Sandfall Interactive agreed that no gen AI was used in the development of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33."
However, on the day of the IGA 2025 premiere, the developers confirmed that Expedition 33 utilized generative AI art during production, leading to an automatic disqualification from all nominations. Although the AI-generated assets were removed from the final game, the IGA continues to enforce its zero-tolerance policy regarding its awards.
Fan Reactions and Successing Award Winners
While IGA or Expedition 33 has yet to disclose any information regarding the exact assets in question, fans on Reddit tried to scour the game to find the gen AI material. Most of them point towards the newspaper prints placed on the walls and posts, which depict writings that are typically associated with AI outputs.
This was patched out almost immediately, as seen on their patch notes on April 30, where the update "Replaced a placeholder texture with the correct visual asset."
Most fans praised IGA’s action towards the situation, noting that authentic human creativity must be upheld, especially during the time of rampant AI usage. Others thought that the disqualification was "ridiculous," stating that Expedition 33 only used the assets as a placeholder texture and argued that it was eventually patched.
Regardless, the IGA is standing firm on its decision and has declared the runners-up in each category as the new winners. As a result, Blue Prince is now the official IGA Game of the Year, with Sorry We’re Closed taking home the award for Best Debut.
The developers for each game will be notified and invited to record acceptance speeches, ensuring they are properly recognized as the winners of their respective categories. "Since the IGAs premiere took place just ahead of the holiday break, we expect both acceptance speeches to be recorded and published in early 2026," Towndrow said.
Despite losing these accolades, Expedition 33 maintains its status as one of the year's standout titles, having secured multiple wins at The Game Awards 2025 and other major ceremonies. Furthermore, fans continue to enjoy the game with its recently released "Thank You" update, adding more content to the French dark fantasy.
Clair Obscur: Expedition is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. To stay up to date with the latest information about the game, click on our article below!
Source:
The Indie Game Awards BlueSky post on Expedition 33 Disqualification
The Indie Game Awards FAQs page
r/expedition 33 | Indie Game Awards Disqualifies Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Due To Gen AI Usage
