In spite of Runaway Achievement, Expedition 33 Creators Aim to Maintain Studio Lean

The game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not only a strong GOTY candidate, it’s also a massive commercial success. Developer Sandfall Interactive and publisher Kepler Interactive announced that the game exceeded 5 million units in sales, this is despite it being a launch-day addition through the Game Pass service.

Its success was a shock to Sandfall. I firmly believed that we'd create a solid title garnering moderate commercial success,” the COO and producer stated.

A technical director remarked the game's critical score, rated 93 by critics, came as the most surprising moment to the studio relative to our early predictions and what the reality turned out to be. Because when it dropped the entire team celebrated excitedly. It was really frantic.”

The positive reception resulted in Sandfall developing a free update for players including novel settings, foes, and boss fights, reportedly is coming within the “upcoming month[s]”.

However, as the title expands, fans shouldn't anticipate they'll hire extensively. We've built a talented crew under clear creative leadership with a clear direction for our work and future concepts. We'd like to keep the human scale that made this possible then develop large projects one by one,” they noted.

Their team size generated a storm of discussion when the game came out. Some developers, including renowned designers, considered the development group as a perfect example for creative teams. While Sandfall was and is truly compact compared to its AAA counterparts, checking the title's staff list shows that numerous contributors worked on it; Sandfall hired a team in Korea handling movement and effects, for example.

“We will hire a little more definitely if we have an increase in development in upcoming years,” the producer said. “Yet I picture rather a creative atelier comprising a handful exceptionally gifted creators capable of producing artistic collaborations.” He noted that the studio's philosophy as a company “focuses on preserving the strengths that enabled this success from the start.”

While it may be not the right time to disclose concrete plans regarding upcoming titles — believe me, I attempted to learn more — the team does know their essential identity. “Turn-based gameplay, forms the foundation of what we built,” a developer explained. “It's still premature to announce what will interest us, but it's important also to adhere to our studio's essence with [a] strong narrative universe plus innovative play that excites us.”

The developer noted that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 originated from the creative director pursuing his ideal project. It is hoped that's something will be repeated in coming projects.”