Weekend Highlights (December 20-21)

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was stripped of awards at The Indie Game Awards 2025 due to AI, Netflix acquired a platform for creating avatars in games, monthly active users of Gran Turismo 7 exceeded 2 million people—here are the main events in the gaming industry over the past weekend.

• The organizers of The Indie Game Awards 2025 rescinded the awards for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in the categories of "Game of the Year" and "Best Debut." They explained that Sandfall Interactive, the studio behind the game, did not disclose the use of generative AI during its development, thereby violating the ceremony's rules. As a result, the "Game of the Year" award was given to Blue Prince, and Sorry We’re Closed was recognized as the best debut.
• Netflix announced the acquisition of Ready Player Me—a platform with metaverse ambitions that allows users to create game avatars. The terms and conditions of the deal were not disclosed, but it is known that come February 1, 2026, Ready Player Me will cease providing services to other companies. It appears the platform's tools will now be exclusive to games within Netflix's own catalog.
• Gran Turismo series producer Kazunori Yamauchi stated that Gran Turismo 7 remains popular nearly four years post-release. According to him, the title currently boasts 2 million active users per month, with numbers continuing to grow. As Yamauchi admitted, this marks an unprecedented milestone not just for Polyphony Digital but for Sony as well.