A decision rooted in events from 2022 has led to the withdrawal of a freshly awarded Game of the Year title. Despite post-launch fixes, the use of generative artificial intelligence ultimately resulted in disqualification at the Indie Game Awards.
As seen at many award ceremonies before, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 dominated the Indie Game Awards. Developed by Sandfall Interactive as an independent project outside the control of major AAA or AA studios, and released through a non-traditional publisher, the game secured both Best Debut Game and Game of the Year. The celebration was short-lived, however, as organizers announced its disqualification just one day later.
The ruling stemmed from the use of generative AI tools during development. AI-generated images were employed as placeholder assets that were meant to be removed prior to release. These elements remained in the launch version and were only eliminated later through a patch. Although this situation had been known for months, it resurfaced following renewed industry-wide debates about AI.
The Indie Game Awards organizers stated that they maintain a strict policy on generative AI, which was clearly communicated during the nomination process. “At the time of submission, a representative of Sandfall Interactive confirmed that no generative AI had been used. The later confirmation of AI-generated imagery invalidates the nomination,” the statement explained.
“Even though the images were removed and the game itself is excellent, this violates our established rules. As a result, both awards have been withdrawn,” the committee added, noting that their rules explicitly ban games developed with generative AI.
Currently, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a 100% AI-free game
In response to an article published by El País, Sandfall Interactive clarified its position, stating that it had used a limited number of pre-existing assets purchased from the official Unreal Engine store, none of which were AI-generated. The studio also confirmed that brief experimentation with AI tools in 2022 was limited to placeholder textures, all of which were removed shortly after launch.
The controversy has also reflected poorly on the awards ceremony itself, as information regarding the AI usage had been publicly available for months. The situation has reportedly created discomfort even for the developers of the title that ultimately inherited the Game of the Year award.
Source: 3djuegos
