Indie Game Awards Remove Clair Obscur Expedition 33 After Generative AI Controversy

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 has been recognized as one of the greatest turn-based roleplaying games (RPG) that existed, earning multiple awards from The Game Awards (TGA). This includes being titled as the Game of the Year (GOTY) from the said event. However, the game had been disqualified from the Indie Game Awards due to Gen AI.

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Disqualified from Indie Game Awards

The Indie Game Awards has been vocal about their stance against the use of Generative AI, which creates images, text, and videos among other things. This is understandable as there are incredible artists waiting for their big break, only to be replaced with artificial intelligence. As indicated in the Indie Game Awards FAQ page under “Game Eligibility” on why Clair Obscur Expedition 33 was disqualified, Sandfall Interactive agreed that there weren’t any use of Gen AI in development of the game. However, the company later confirmed on the day of the awarding that there was use of Gen AI. This ultimately led to the disqualification of Expedition 33 from its Debut Game and Game of the Year awards.

In a previous interview with El País, François Meurisse, Sandfall Interactive’s COO and producer, did confirm that there was minimal use of Generative AI during production. However, these assets were only used as placeholders and later on replaced. Despite the use of these placeholders, Sandfall Interactive does take a stand against using “creative” AI replacing human-created media.

While many of Clair Obscur Expedition 33‘s fans are outraged with the disqualification, people would need to respect the Indie Game Award’s decision. The game is still amazing as it is, and I’m sure that many would still appreciate it whether or not it receive its awards. And even so, the game still received multiple awards from The Game Awards.

Stay tuned for more Clair Obscur Expedition 33 news and guides here on thesleeplessgamer!

About the Author

Hannah Joy Santander

Administrator

Hannah previously worked as a Senior Gaming News and Guides Writer at Level Push and a Freelance Writer for GFinity Esports. She had always been a gamer since she was young - from casually playing The Sims and delving into competitive FPS games like VALORANT. She also loves gacha games such as Zenless Zone Zero.

Visit Website View All Posts