Clair Obscur Disqualified — GOTY Reassigned

• The Indie Game Awards (IGA) has rescinded Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s Game of the Year and Debut Game wins after confirming generative AI art was used.
• IGA says Sandfall Interactive had affirmed no gen AI was used during nomination, a claim later contradicted by the studio.
• The IGA has reassigned Debut Game to Sorry We're Closed and Game of the Year to Blue Prince; one Indie Vanguard award was also retracted.
• The studio has reportedly patched out the flagged assets; IGA will publish acceptance speeches for the new winners.

What the IGA found

The Indie Game Awards says its nomination rules bar the undisclosed use of generative AI in development and require truthful confirmation during submission.

According to the IGA statement, a representative of Sandfall Interactive initially agreed that no gen AI had been used in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. That position changed on the day of the ceremony when Sandfall confirmed generative AI art had been used in production.

Official response from the IGA

In a post on the IGA site and social channels the Nomination Committee announced it would retract both Debut Game and Game of the Year, and reassign the awards to the next-highest ranked entries.

"The IGAs Nomination Committee is officially retracting Debut Game and Game of the Year, awarding both categories to new recipients," the committee said. The organization also noted one Indie Vanguard recipient would be withdrawn.

Winners reassigned

Per the committee, Debut Game is now awarded to Sorry We're Closed, while Blue Prince takes Game of the Year. The IGA said acceptance speeches for the reassigned winners will be recorded and published in the new year.

Context and reaction

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been a major commercial and critical success since its April release, hitting multi‑million sales and earning public praise, including a mention from French President Emmanuel Macron.

Fans and community researchers have pointed to alleged AI-generated images on forums such as Reddit; the IGA has not publicly identified the specific assets at issue. Sandfall says the problematic assets were patched out and that the current game contains no gen AI images.

Industry implications

The IGA decision underscores tighter scrutiny around the use and disclosure of generative AI in games, and sets a precedent for awards and festivals that require declarations about development methods.

Next steps

The IGA has updated its FAQ on eligibility and will publish further details online. Developers and publishers will likely face increased pressure to document asset provenance and to disclose AI tooling during submissions.

Related links: YouTube walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yeK_x4VGkfk • IGA announcement: https://www.indiegameawards.gg/