Overview

The Expedition 33 AI Controversy refers to discourse over claims that the video game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 uses artificial intelligence in some aspects of the game. Instances of suspected AI were pointed out by players throughout 2025 as the controversy grew.

The claims went viral in December 2025 after the game won a record of nine awards at The Game Awards 2025, causing an interview with the game's director, François Meurisse, to resurface in which he confirms the use of "some AI" when producing the game to help keep the budget low. Purportedly, AI was mainly used for in-game placeholder images. In another interview, the game's director, Guillaume Broche, stated that the developers did not use AI in the creative process of the game.

Background

On April 24th, 2025, French indie RPG game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was released. The game went on to receive widespread acclaim and, in December of that year, won nine awards at The Game Awards, the most awards for a single game in the history of the show.

Initial AI Discovery and Backlash

On April 24th, 2025, the day of the game's release, Redditor FlippinSnip3r made a post to the /r/expedition33^[1] subreddit titled, "Bad news, I think they used Generative AI in this game," garnering roughly 14 upvotes in nine months.

The post includes a screenshot of some in-game posters attached to a pole, the claim being that the poster graphics are made using AI.

Several other posts were made to the /r/expedition33^[2][3] subreddit in the following months, pointing out examples of suspected AI.

On May 2nd, 2025, Redditor ntzschtmtc posted an example of the same posters on the pole in the game, receiving 15 upvotes and 28 comments in eight months. Shortly after, Redditor ChamomilleCat commented with a screenshot purportedly showing the same pole with the artwork patched out by the devs for a non-AI version.

On June 24th, 2025, Redditor Different_Speed692 shared another in-game screenshot showing alleged AI art on a poster. The post did not receive notable engagement but received a dozen comments from other users debating whether it was actually AI-generated.

Developments

El Pais Interview With François Meurisse

On July 18th, 2025, Expedition 33's producer, Francois Meurisse, was featured in an interview with French publication El Pais^[4] for an article titled "The low-cost creative revolution: How technology is making art accessible to everyone." In the piece, Meurisse is quoted as saying:

"We use some AI, but not much. The key is that we were very clear about what we wanted to do and what to invest in. And, of course, technology has allowed us to do things that were unthinkable a short time ago. Unreal Engine 5’s tools and assets have been very important in improving the graphics, gameplay, and cinematics."

3D Juegos Interview

On December 3rd, 2025, 3D Juegos^[5][6] published a piece featuring interviews with the team behind Expedition 33, including director Guillaume Broche, who denied using AI in the game's creative process. He was quoted as saying:

"I think we agree that when it comes to anything creative, our answer is essentially: 'no.' It's like taking away all the joy of creating a game. We love making games, we love creating. Creating is one of the most beautiful things people can do […] Nothing in the game will come from AI, we state this clearly, it's a firm 'no' for us. Beyond that, I don't have a formed opinion: science, responsibility, process, and so on. It doesn't matter to me as long as it works, but when it comes to creative things and things that must come from the heart, for us, it means a definite 'no.'"

Online Presence

Backlash After The Game Awards 2025

After winning nine awards at The Game Awards 2025 on December 11th, 2025, some social media users began criticizing the game for winning so many awards over other nominees at the awards show. These criticisms resurfaced the claims about the game allegedly using AI.

On December 16th, 2025, gaming journalist and X^[7] user @GenePark, in response to a post about the Larian CEO using generative AI to "explore ideas, flesh out PowerPoint presentations, develop concept art and write placeholder text," posted a screenshot of the July 2025 El Pais interview, writing, "Expedition 33 team freely admitted using AI and just won the most awards ever in The Game Awards history," garnering over 25,000 likes and 5,300 reposts in two days.

In the comments, Park clarified his post, writing, "me pointing this out is not a defense or a callout. but whatever you fear about AI just got normalized and awarded. no doubt Larian feels emboldened to also admit it."

Later that day, X^[8] user @kindabradatthis posted a screenshot of the in-game posters that purportedly used AI-generated placeholder graphics, writing, "Even deeper, AI placeholders shipped and only got removed when people noticed. Think about what didn’t get caught," garnering over 19,000 likes in two days.

On December 17th, 2025, X^[9] user @luscielia quoted Park's post with screenshots from the 3D Juegos interview to defend the developers, writing, "Expedition 33 director Guillaume Broche said they are strictly against using creative AI but you won't see accounts like this share articles like that because it does not suit their agenda," gaining over 12,000 likes in a day.

Later that day, X^[10] user @HigashiyamaDan_ posted a graphic negatively comparing Expedition 33 to Hollow Knight: Silksong, which ran against Expedition 33 for "Game of the Year" at the 2025 Game Awards, labeling Expedition 33 as "AI slop," garnering over 20,000 likes in a day.

Search Interest

External References