Indie Game Awards Just Exposed Themselves

The Indie Game Awards revoked Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s GOTY — and the devs finally spoke. Now the awards’ decision looks worse than ever.

The Indie Game Awards thought revoking Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s Game of the Year would settle the AI controversy.

Instead, it exposed them.

After the Clair Obscur developers finally broke their silence on the AI backlash, it’s now clear how flimsy — and inconsistent — the Indie Game Awards’ ruling really was. The game didn’t ship with AI-generated content, the devs were transparent, and the so-called violation was tied to removed placeholder textures.

So why was GOTY taken away after the win?

In this video, we break down:

Why the Indie Game Awards revoked Clair Obscur’s GOTY

What the devs actually said about AI use

How this decision contradicts real game development practices

Why this sets a dangerous precedent for indie developers

And why this backlash backfired hard

This isn’t just about Clair Obscur — it’s about who gets punished when games succeed, and how award shows enforce rules once the spotlight hits.

👇 Was this about ethics — or control?

#IndieGameAwards #ClairObscur #GamingDrama #AIinGaming #YouTubeGaming