If you missed the biggest news this weekend, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has officially been disqualified from the Indie Game Awards, over Sandfall Interactive’s use of generative AI during development.
Clair Obscur made history, becoming the most-awarded game at The Game Awards with nine awards, including Game of the Year and Art Direction. It should be stressed the Indie Game Awards is not related to Geoff Keighley’s Game Awards, and is instead put together by Six One Indie. Before the AI controversy, Clair Obscur did well at the Indie Game Awards, taking home Game of the Year and Debut Game.
Clair Obscur Has Been Replaced By A Worthy Winner
You really should play this game
Show creators Six One Indie explained the decision to pull the awards was made after voting was completed, and the show had already been aired.
“The Indie Game Awards have a hard stance on the use of gen AI throughout the nomination process and during the ceremony itself. When it was submitted for consideration, representatives of Sandfall Interactive agreed that no gen AI was used in the development of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. In light of Sandfall Interactive confirming the use of gen AI on the day of the Indie Game Awards 2025 premiere, this does disqualify Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from its nomination.”
With Clair Obscur disqualified from the event, Debut Game has now gone to Sorry We’re Closed, which is currently free via the Epic Games Store. Meanwhile, the coveted Game of the Year award has now gone to Dogubomb’s Blue Prince.
The disqualification of Clair Obscur has added fuel to what was already a roaring fire of a debate regarding the use of gen AI in development. Whether you believe Clair Obscur should have had its awards taken away or not, one upshot is seeing a brilliant game finally getting a little more recognition after being largely ignored this awards season.
Blue Prince Deserves Some Love
An underrated GOTY contender
There have been so many genuinely great games released this year, so it’s understandable (if a little sad) that some of the heavy hitters just wouldn’t be talked about as much during end-of-year roundups. The hugely popular Kingdom Come Deliverance II, for instance, failed to win a single prize at The Game Awards.
I reviewed Blue Prince over at GAMINGbible when it released back in April, and called it one of the best games of the year.
Here’s what I said at the time:
“I’ve never experienced anything quite like this game. It’s an endlessly captivating labyrinth of twists and turns, with a world that will crawl inside your head and refuse to leave until you’ve finally wrestled its final secrets into submission. And believe me: it’ll take you a while to do that.”
I wasn’t alone in this opinion. Blue Prince is one of the highest-rated games of 2025 on Metacritic, just behind Hades 2 and Clair Obscur. It also has a Very Positive rating on Steam out of nearly 11,000 reviews. Even so, it’s a game that’s been lost in the noise of an incredible year.
Obviously, I don’t think winning a Game of the Year prize by default because the real winner was disqualified is the way Blue Prince should have won. I wish more people were talking about this game away from a controversy we’re going to be debating well into the New Year. But if there’s one small positive to take from the current furore around Clair Obscur, it’s seeing Blue Prince get its time in the spotlight, however brief.
- Released
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April 10, 2025
- ESRB
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Everyone 10+ / Alcohol Reference, Simulated Gambling
- Developer(s)
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Dogubomb
- Publisher(s)
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Raw Fury
- Engine
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Unity
