🔗 Share this article

The game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not only an impressive GOTY candidate, it’s also a huge financial hit. Developer Sandfall Interactive and publisher Kepler Interactive disclosed that this title surpassed five million copies in sales, this is despite it being a launch-day addition on Xbox Game Pass.

Its success came as an unexpected turn for the team. I was convinced that we would have an enjoyable experience garnering some average market performance,” a senior team member explained.

A technical director noted this title's review aggregate, which currently sits at 93, was “maybe the biggest shock to the studio compared to our early predictions and the final result proved to be. Because when it dropped all staff members were cheering loudly. It felt absolutely wild.”

This triumph resulted in the studio creating new free content for the title with a new environment, foes, and boss fights, as announced will release in the next few months.

Nevertheless, as the title expands, fans shouldn't anticipate the team will expand. Our team includes an excellent group under clear creative leadership with a clear direction for the project plus upcoming innovations. We intend to preserve the close-knit size that made this possible and do maybe major titles sequentially,” the producer noted.

The size of Sandfall generated a storm of discussion upon the title's release. Certain industry figures, like Hideo Kojima, considered the development group as the “ideal” for a studio. While Sandfall was and is truly compact versus large developers, checking Expedition 33’s credits reveals numerous contributors participated; the French studio contracted a Korean team handling movement and effects, as an instance.

“Some hiring will occur a little more definitely when facing next an upcoming production peak in upcoming years,” the executive said. “However, I envision more of a workshop comprising a handful really talented people that create a work of art together.” He noted that their core belief as a company “aims to keep the successful elements that made this achievement possible in the first place.”

Although it's not the right time to say specifically about future projects — and trust me, I tried to get them to — the developers understand their fundamental principles. “Strategic combat, is integral to our identity of this project,” they remarked. “It's a bit too early to be able to tell our next interests, but it's important also to adhere to our studio's essence through compelling worlds and engaging mechanics that inspires the team.”

The lead programmer noted how this game began with their director “work[ing] on his dream game. It is hoped that's something we can continue with upcoming games.”