In the wake of a highly publicized disqualification from the Indie Game Awards, Sandfall Interactive has officially addressed the generative AI controversy surrounding its hit RPG, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Despite sweeping The Game Awards 2025 with a record-breaking nine wins, the studio's reputation has been tested after it was revealed that AI-generated assets were present in the game at launch.
Director Guillaume Broche and Art Director Nicholas Maxson-Francombe recently clarified the studio's stance, promising that their future projects will be "made by humans."
The Disqualification and Backlash
On December 22, 2025, the Indie Game Awards (IGA) officially retracted the Game of the Year and Best Debut Game honors from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
The Violation: The IGA has a strict policy against generative AI. While Sandfall initially claimed no AI was used, it later emerged that placeholder textures (specifically AI-generated newspaper clippings) survived the final QA process and shipped with the game.
The New Winners: Following the retraction, Blue Prince was named Game of the Year, and Sorry We're Closed received the Debut Game award.
The Patch: Sandfall removed the offending assets within five days of the game's April 2025 launch, but the IGA committee maintained that the use of these tools during development made the game ineligible.
"It Felt Wrong": Sandfall’s Response
In a Q&A session with the YouTube channel Sushi, the developers admitted they experimented with AI during pre-production in 2022 when the technology was gaining traction as a "useful tool."
The Experiment: Guillaume Broche explained that they tested the tech for placeholders but quickly abandoned it. "We tried it, and we didn’t like it. It felt wrong," he stated.
The Commitment: Broche emphasized that the studio has learned from the experience and that for all future Sandfall games, "everything will be made by humans from us."
Context: A Record-Breaking Success
Despite the loss of its IGA titles, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 remains the most successful release of 2025. On December 11, 2025, it set a new record for the most wins in a single night at The Game Awards, taking home nine trophies:
Game of the Year
Best Game Direction
Best Narrative
Best Art Direction
Best Score and Music (Lorien Testard)
Best Performance (Jennifer English)
Best Independent Game
Best Debut Indie Game
Best RPG
The game surpassed the previous record of seven wins held by The Last of Us Part II. This dominance has only intensified the debate, as other major figures like Larian Studios and Hideo Kojima have also recently commented on their varying boundaries for using AI in development.
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