Despite Overwhelming Achievement, Expedition 33 Creators Intend to Maintain Studio Compact

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't just an impressive Game of the Year contender, but also an enormous sales triumph. Developer Sandfall Interactive and publisher their publishing partner disclosed that the game exceeded 5 million units sold, this is in spite of its status as a launch-day addition on Xbox Game Pass.

Its success was an unexpected turn to Sandfall. I was convinced that we'd create an enjoyable experience that would meet some average sales results,” the COO and producer stated.

A technical director remarked this title's critical score, now standing at 93, was the greatest surprise” to the studio relative to what we anticipated and what the reality turned out to be. When the score released all staff members celebrated excitedly. It felt absolutely wild.”

This triumph has led to Sandfall developing a free update for the title featuring fresh areas, enemies, along with challenging bosses, as announced is coming sometime soon.

That said, despite the game's evolution, fans shouldn't anticipate they'll hire extensively. We've built a talented crew with a strong creative director with a clear direction for this game plus upcoming innovations. We'd like to keep the human scale that made this possible then develop large projects one by one,” the executive said.

Their team size sparked significant conversation upon the title's release. Some developers, such as the famed director, considered the development group as the model for a studio. While Sandfall was and is relatively lean compared to its AAA counterparts, a quick look at the game's credits indicates dozens of people worked on it; Sandfall partnered with overseas animators handling movement and effects, for example.

“We will hire a bit more certainly when facing a future production surge in upcoming years,” they commented. “However, I envision more of a workshop comprising a handful really talented people that can make collective masterpieces.” They emphasized that their core belief as a company “aims to keep the strengths that made this achievement possible in the first place.”

Despite being too early for Sandfall to reveal exact details regarding upcoming titles — believe me, I tried to get them to — the developers understand what’s at its core. “The turn-based aspect, I think it's in the DNA of this project,” they explained. “It's a bit too early to be able to tell our next interests, however, it's crucial to stay true to the DNA of studio featuring rich storytelling and the interesting gameplay that drives our passion.”

They noted how this game started with their director pursuing his ideal project. And hopefully that's something will be repeated as well for future productions.”