Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 recently celebrated winning the Game of the Year honor at the Indie Game Awards. However, the accolade has been revoked after it was discovered that developer Sandfall Interactive incorporated generative AI in the game’s creation. As a result, the Indie Game Awards also withdrew the Debut Game award initially bestowed upon Expedition 33.

The Indie Game Awards provided clarity on this decision through their FAQ section, stating that their guidelines explicitly disqualify any games developed with generative AI from being eligible for nominations. Sandfall Interactive has yet to issue a response regarding the situation.

The title of Game of the Year now goes to the puzzle game Blue Prince. On Sunday, publisher Raw Fury assured the public that “no AI was involved in the making of Blue Prince,” emphasizing that it was “entirely crafted through human creativity” by Tonda Ros and the Dogubomb team.

As the use of generative AI becomes more widespread in gaming, the Indie Game Awards have committed to adapting their approach accordingly to address these changes effectively.

Additionally, the Indie Game Awards have decided to retract the Indie Vanguard award from Gortyn Code, creators of the Game Boy-inspired Chantey. This game, distributed on a physical cartridge by Palmer Luckey’s ModRetro, aligns with the Chromatic Game Boy. Notably, Luckey, who is also the founder of defense contractor Anduril, recently unveiled a Chromatic model branded with Anduril, crafted from “the same magnesium aluminum alloy used in Anduril’s attack drones.”

“As gen AI becomes more prevalent in our industry, we will better navigate it appropriately,” the Indie Game Awards says.

The Indie Game Awards is also retracting an Indie Vanguard award from studio Gortyn Code, which developed the Game Boy-inspired game Chantey. The game is sold on a physical cartridge by Palmer Luckey’s ModRetro, which makes the Chromatic Game Boy. Luckey also founded defense contractor Anduril, and Chromatic recently announced an Anduril-branded Chromatic made from “the same magnesium aluminum alloy as Anduril’s attack drones.”

“The IGAs nomination committee were unfortunately made aware of ModRetro’s nature and principles the day after the 2025 premiere with the news of their upcoming handheld console,” the Indie Game Awards says. Because of Chantey’s ties with ModRetro, “Indie Vanguard has also been retracted as we do not want to provide the company with a platform.” The organization also says that “The decision does not reflect Gortyn Code, but ModRetro alone.”