India GOTY Award from Expedition 33

Loft in Blue Prince with sunlight coming through the circular window.

Vaspaan Dastoor is an editor for TheGamer. He used to work at IGN India and is constantly trying to get people to make time for a LOTR marathon. You can find him at @DastoorVaspaan where he gives hot reactions for cold answers

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is taking home all the awards this year, including the big one at the Indie Game Of The Year Awards. However, it was stripped of its award just hours after the ceremony due to the alleged use of AI in its development, and fans were expectedly disappointed. The GOTY title was finally won by the Blue Prince.

The backlash was pretty strong, as you'd expect, but The Indie Game Awards said it had a “strong stance on the use of gen AI during the nomination process and during the ceremony itself”. As it all went down last night, Blue Prince publisher Raw Fury released a statement to clarify that no artificial intelligence was used in the development of the game.

Blue Prince reiterates that no artificial intelligence was used in the development

Camping and tent with white trees behind in blue prince.

“For people who need confirmation: There is no AI used in Blue Prince,” said Raw Fury's. “The game was built and created with full human instinct by Tonda Ros [Dogubomb] and his team. It is the result of eight years of development, fueled by imagination and creativity, and we are extremely proud of what Tonda has achieved.”

The Indie Game Awards explained in an FAQ how Clair Obscur was nominated in the first place and why the award was later rescinded. “When submitted for review, a Sandfall Interactive representative agreed that no AI gene was used in the development of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

The main character in Prince Charming wears a crown with a red countdown timer behind his back that says 00:00:00.

Blue Prince is pretty much the most exciting speedrun I've ever seen

I can't believe this is even possible.

“In light of Sandfall Interactive confirming the use of gen AI art in production on the opening day of the Indie Game Awards 2025, this disqualifies Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 from its nomination. While the assets in question have been fixed and it's a great game, it's against the rules we have officially in place. As a result, IGAs has suspended the game's nomination committee for the year.”