In spite of Runaway Achievement, Expedition 33 Creators Aim to Keep Studio Compact

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not only a top GOTY candidate, but also an enormous sales triumph. Developer Sandfall Interactive along with publisher Kepler Interactive announced that the game surpassed five million copies sold, this is in spite of it being a day-one release on Xbox Game Pass.

This achievement came as quite an unexpected turn for the team. I firmly believed that we'd create an enjoyable experience garnering some average commercial success,” a senior team member commented.

A technical director noted that Clair Obscur’s review aggregate, now standing at 93, was “maybe the biggest shock to the studio compared to what we anticipated and the actual outcome turned out to be. Because when it dropped everybody in the studio celebrated excitedly. It felt absolutely wild.”

That success prompted work on new free content for the title with a new environment, foes, along with challenging bosses, reportedly will release within the “upcoming month[s]”.

That said, while the game is growing, it's unlikely they'll hire extensively. Our team includes a talented crew under clear creative leadership with a clear direction for our work and also for new ideas. We'd like to keep the human scale that worked for this game and perhaps create large projects one by one,” the executive noted.

Their team size sparked a storm of discussion when the game came out. Some developers, including renowned designers, viewed the development group as a perfect example for creative teams. While Sandfall was and is truly compact next to major studios, a quick look at the title's staff list indicates numerous contributors were involved; the French studio hired a team in Korea for animation work, to illustrate.

“We will hire slightly more certainly should there be next an upcoming production peak in upcoming years,” the producer said. “But I would see more of a workshop with a small number of really talented people that create a work of art together.” They emphasized that Sandfall’s vision as a company “focuses on preserving the key advantages that made this achievement possible originally.”

While it may be too early for Sandfall to disclose concrete plans regarding upcoming titles — believe me, I tried to get them to — they are certain what’s at its core. “Turn-based gameplay, I think it's in the DNA of what we built,” they remarked. “The timing isn't right to be able to tell our next interests, yet we must to adhere to the DNA of studio featuring rich storytelling and engaging mechanics that excites us.”

The lead programmer noted that the project originated from the visionary pursuing his ideal project. It is hoped that's something will be repeated with upcoming games.”