"Don't be lazy f**ko's": Retro games legend reacts to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 AI controversy, reminding devs to "pay for your stuff"

1. Games
2. JRPGs
3. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

"Don't be lazy f**ko's": Retro games legend reacts to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 AI controversy, reminding devs to "pay for your stuff" News By Ashley Bardhan published 23 December 2025

A house divided…

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Sandfall Interactive) Share Share by:

• Copy link
• Facebook
• X
• Whatsapp
• Pinterest
• Flipboard

Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developer Sandfall Interactive used some generative AI technology while creating the monumentally successful JRPG, and the gaming industry has some thoughts.

Most notably, the Indie Game Awards rescinded Expedition 33's Game of the Year win after discovering, as Sandfall explained to Spanish magazine El País, generative AI was used to create a few temporary textures – which were then removed within five days of the game's launch. Still, for some developers, there's no generative AI transgression too small.

Former Rare developer and voice actor Chris Seavor reacts to Expedition 33's lost award on Bluesky with an emphatic, "Oh dear..........."

You may like

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 gets dragged into the Larian AI drama, while a Divinity lead tells fans "we have good QA"
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's controversial wins at the Indie Game Awards retracted after the RPG's use of generative AI
• Former Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity devs claim Larian heads are "lying about people being okay" with using AI

"Don't be lazy fucko's and pay for your stuff, is the message here....." Seavor says, adding in another post, "Although, this is a lot more common than you'd guess.... In all honesty i can't even be sure i wouldn't have used it for more finished pre-vizing (execs are fucking morons when it comes to demos) back in the day...... (although never actual assets, temporary of otherwise.. that really is lazy)."

Indie developer and streamer PeachyAenne says on Bluesky, "Love to see a community come together on important issues and stand by them." Though, it's worth noting that the gaming community – indie or otherwise – can't quite decide on what the right approach to AI use is. Only last week, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 writer Daniel Vávra admitted, "If AI can help me make an epic game in a year with a smaller team like in the old days, I'm all for it."

"Show your employees some respect": Former Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity devs claim Larian heads are "lying about people being okay" with using AI.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. CATEGORIES PS5 Xbox Series X PC Gaming Platforms PlayStation Xbox Ashley BardhanSenior Writer

Ashley is a Senior Writer at GamesRadar+. She's been a staff writer at Kotaku and Inverse, too, and she's written freelance pieces about horror and women in games for sites like Rolling Stone, Vulture, IGN, and Polygon. When she's not covering gaming news, she's usually working on expanding her doll collection while watching Saw movies one through 11.

Show More Comments

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Logout Read more Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 gets dragged into the Larian AI drama, while a Divinity lead tells fans "we have good QA"    Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's controversial wins at the Indie Game Awards retracted after the RPG's use of generative AI    Former Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity devs claim Larian heads are "lying about people being okay" with using AI    Baldur’s Gate 3 lead slams "insufferable" AI artists whose ideas are mere "LinkedIn Copypasta": "Every intellectual point they make on Twitter was made by a man with a toilet in the 1910s"    Divinity publishing lead says "I'm not entirely sure we are the ideal target for the level of scorn" over AI stance    Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 lead leaps to Baldur's Gate 3 and Divinity devs' defense amid AI controversy    Latest in JRPGs Yakuza lead is proud "people can finally say they enjoy the Like a Dragon series more openly"    A JRPG series that's been running for 21 years is going back to remakes because "the player base was shrinking"    Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 director says "very Japanese" gameplay makes the JRPG possible to play "without taking a single hit"    Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 update nerfs the "hardest boss" of Verso's Drafts - a little red lifebuoy    Final Fantasy 14 patch 7.4 sparks concern as the MMO's most beloved cat boy sounds "different" than before    Final Fantasy creator shouts out Clair Obscur after its director said the JRPG icon "inspired me to become a game dev"    Latest in News GTA 6 likely won't cost $100, ex-Rockstar technical director says, and it's all thanks to GTA Online    You may just see "a turn-based game with cats f****ing" in new strategy game Mewgenics, but led dev says it’s actually "very D&D"    Hideo Kojima calls Death Stranding 2 his "masterpiece," but that's only because his "latest work" is always his best    "Don't be lazy f**ko's": Retro games legend reacts to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 AI controversy    Banjo-Kazooie creator reveals that the mythical "Stop 'N' Swop" feature was originally bigger than we ever knew    The first Avengers: Doomsday trailer is now officially online, as the Russo Brothers explain why they brought Cap back    GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS

1. 1This alt-history board game is still a gold standard for modern strategy
2. 2Skate Story review: "A beautiful and unique skateboarding game with great, stylized visuals set in a grungy underworld"
3. 3Octopath Traveler 0 review: "The strongest entry in this retro-styled JRPG series yet, I love the greater focus on tactical battles"
4. 4Sleep Awake review: "An all-timer horror premise is let down by tired stealth that I feel like I'm sleepwalking through"
5. 5Metroid Prime 4: Beyond review: "The series' atmosphere has never been better, while being dragged down by a boring overworld and clunky psychic powers"

1. 1Avatar: Fire and Ash review: "Still a technical marvel, with some of the year's best action filmmaking"
2. 2Five Nights at Freddy's 2 review: "We have waited two years for a Five Nights at Freddy's 1.5"
3. 3Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery review: "Brings Knives Out back to its roots for a sequel that's almost on a par with the original"
4. 4Wicked: For Good review: "Builds to an incredibly cathartic conclusion, but isn't quite as captivating as Part 1"
5. 5The Running Man review: "Some fun action and Glen Powell's star power aren't enough to energize this disappointing Stephen King adaptation"

1. 1Fallout season 2 review: "A hell of a lot of fun despite being overcrowded and convoluted"
2. 2Stranger Things season 5 volume 1 review: “Can the Duffer brothers stick the landing? It’s sure looking like they will”
3. 3Pluribus season 1 review: "Easily one of the year's best dramas"
4. 4The Witcher season 4 review: "The Henry Cavill-less fourth season is the best yet"
5. 5IT: Welcome to Derry review: "A supremely confident step back into the history of Stephen King's cursed town and killer clown"