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Sandfall Director Says Expedition 33 Is Human-Made After Awards Pulled Over AI Test

A strict no‑AI rule at the Indie Game Awards cost the game two prizes after the studio acknowledged limited placeholder textures generated by AI.

Overview

  • Director Guillaume Brioche said the team briefly tried generative AI in 2022 for a few missing textures, decided against it, and removed those assets within five days of launch.
  • He emphasized that all shipped content, including concept art and voice work, is made by humans and said the studio will avoid such tools in future projects.
  • The Indie Game Awards rescinded Game of the Year and Best Debut due to its no‑generative‑AI eligibility policy.
  • Dexerto reports the removed items included poster textures that displayed telltale AI artifacts, which the studio said slipped past QA unintentionally.
  • Industry reaction remains split, with some creators condemning any AI use and others, such as Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 writer Daniel Vávra, expressing openness to AI for efficiency.