#Expedition 33 was disqualified from the Indie Recreation Awards—however not for the explanations you suppose – Destructoid

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has swept by way of each single award present it has appeared on, claiming probably the most The Recreation Awards wins of all time. It’s a stellar sport, one which revolutionized its style, but additionally proved that video games are a real artwork kind.

Nonetheless, the Indie Recreation Awards disqualified it, not due to its unusual funding and debatable “indie” standing, however its use of AI.

This was confirmed by the Indie Recreation Awards itself, who posted an announcement on its FAQ web page explaining why Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was excluded from the awards on the day of the ceremony, provided that it was already nominated for the Debut Recreation and Recreation of the 12 months classes. It defined that IGA has a “onerous stance” concerning using AI in online game improvement and that it had, previous to the ceremony, been instructed by Sandfall that no AI was used within the manufacturing of Expedition 33.

Nonetheless, Sandfall Interactive did say it used “some AI” when making Expedition 33 just a few months in the past (through El Pais), which apparently got here to the IGA’s consideration on the day the ceremony was speculated to happen.

“In gentle of Sandfall Interactive confirming using gen AI artwork in manufacturing on the day of the Indie Recreation Awards 2025 premiere, this does disqualify Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from its nomination,” the group stated.

“Whereas the property in query have been patched out, and it’s a fantastic sport, it does go in opposition to the rules we’ve got in place,” it added.

The IGA has heavy-handed rules in the case of using generative synthetic intelligence fashions, however are apparently prepared to transform and rethink its tips for future ceremonies, given how widespread the know-how is turning into (sadly).

Even so, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been excluded from at the very least one main awards present, although not that it actually issues. It received each class it was nominated for on the 2025 Golden Joysticks, took house 9 Recreation Awards, and was even topped Destructoid’s personal Recreation of the 12 months (even the group agreed).