What a wild and heavy weekend for the gaming community. From historic victories in Abu Dhabi to the tragic loss of an industry icon, there’s a lot to process. Here is your breakdown of everything happening in the world of gaming right now. 🎮
In a shocking turn of events on December 21, the organizers of The Indie Game Awards 2025 officially rescinded the "Game of the Year" and "Best Debut" awards for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
The studio, Sandfall Interactive, was found to have used generative AI without disclosure, violating the ceremony's strict anti-AI rules. While the studio clarified these were placeholder assets intended for removal, the violation stood.
The New GOTY: The title has been officially handed to the puzzle-adventure Blue Prince.
Best Debut: Now awarded to the survival horror title Sorry We’re Closed.
The industry is in mourning following the passing of legendary developer Vince Zampella on December 22. The Respawn co-founder and former Infinity Ward CEO tragically died in a vehicle accident in California. "Vince’s influence on the Call of Duty, Titanfall, and Apex Legends franchises remains unparalleled. He didn't just make games; he defined an entire era of shooters."
🎮 Events and Esports
Games of the Future 2025 (Abu Dhabi)
The Million prize pool event in the UAE is currently the center of the esports world, showcasing "Phygital" sports, a blend of digital gaming and physical athleticism.
The holiday tradition continues! Epic has been rotating free games every 24 hours since Dec 20. Make sure to check in daily so you don't miss the high-profile titles currently rotating through the store.
📅 Live Service and Holiday Updates
Most major titles launched their winter events this past weekend:
Helldivers 2: The Festival of Reckoning (launched Dec 18) is live with new winter-themed stratagems and hazardous environmental effects.
Marvel Rivals: The Winter Celebration (Dec 19) introduces the "Snowball Fight" mode and exclusive seasonal skins.
Pokémon GO: Part 1 of the Winter Holiday event is live, featuring new costumed Pokémon debuts.
🚀 Quick Hits
Netflix Gaming: Netflix has officially acquired Ready Player Me, an avatar platform, signaling a push toward a unified "Metaverse" for their gaming catalog by 2026. Gran Turismo 7: Sony revealed that GT7 hit a massive 2 million monthly active users, a series high four years after launch.
🔥 Explosive Reveal: Gachiakuta: The Game
Manga fans, get ready! Com2uS officially revealed Gachiakuta: The Game on December 21. Its a gritty survival action RPG (positioned as a "Soulslike"). Step into the shoes of Rudo in a trash-filled dystopia, scavenging gear and crafting unique weapons.
Release: Scheduled for 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Which of these updates impacts you the most? Are you excited for Gachiakuta, or are you too busy grinding the Helldivers winter event? Let’s us know in the comments below! 👇☮
In my honest opinion, the Indie Game Awards are being overly alarmist. Everyone using computers, today, is using AI in one way or the other. I am quite sure that there are developers, indie or otherwise, that aren't disclosing their AI use.
There is nothing wrong with using AI. It is an amazing exploration tool. It is more the question whether AI is used ethically and responsibly. For a long time we have already been using algorithms.
In short, I think this is an overreaction, and that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's game dev studio shouldn't be punished.
the expedition 33 news is wild.
the gachiakuta anime was amazing. the world building, story, and system is wonderful. and i can see it being turned into a great game.
@ValwF
The issue isn't whether AI is a valid tool. It's that the awards have a clear "no AI" rule, and the studio entered while breaking it without disclosure.
The "placeholder" defense doesn't hold up. If it was innocent, they could have disclosed it. Not disclosing it means they knowingly submitted a nomination that violated the terms; that's a choice, not an oversight.
You're right that algorithms and AI both automate tasks. The key difference is transparency and source integrity. I can trace and audit an algorithm. I can't know what data an image model was trained on or if it regurgitated copyrighted work. That's why the rule exists, and why hiding its use is the real problem here.
I'm fine with studios using AI openly, like in The Finals. Hiding it to win an award that specifically bans it is what crosses the line.
The Expedition 33 thing is tricky. Using AI isn’t bad at all it’s a great tool. The problem is not being upfront about it when the rules clearly banned it.I get why some think it’s overreacting lots of devs use AI in some way but honesty matters. Breaking rules to win an award isn’t cool.
Also Gachiakuta looks awesome could be a really fun game.
The "placeholder" defense doesn't hold up. If it was innocent, they could have disclosed it. Not disclosing it means they knowingly submitted a nomination that violated the terms; that's a choice, not an oversight.
If they thought that they had removed all the AI placeholders, then there was nothing to disclose, because no AI textures would have been in the final game.
So I think that you don't understand the situation.
@Aapje Apologies, but I do understand the situation. The Indie Game Awards do allow placeholders, however they explicitly prohibit generative AI at any point in development, not just in the final build.
The studio has already publicly acknowledged that AI-generated assets were used, which directly contradicts the idea that there was “nothing to disclose.” Even if those assets were intended as placeholders and later removed, their use still matters under the rules.
For clarity, I’d strongly recommend reviewing the studio’s own statements on this, if you haven’t already as well as the Awards FAQ.
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