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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not only a strong GOTY candidate, but also a massive financial hit. Developer Sandfall Interactive along with publisher their publishing partner disclosed that the game topped five million copies sold, this is despite its status as a launch-day addition on Xbox Game Pass.

This achievement was a surprise to the developers. “I was strongly believing that we would have a solid title garnering some average sales results,” the COO and producer commented.

A technical director noted this title's Metacritic rating, now standing at 93, was “maybe the biggest shock for everyone versus “our initial expectations and the final result proved to be. Once it was published everybody in the studio was screaming and jumping. The energy was electric.”

The positive reception resulted in work on a complimentary expansion for the game featuring fresh areas, foes, and boss fights, which they said would be out in the next few months.

However, as the title expands, it's unlikely the studio to grow. We've built an excellent group guided by a visionary director with a clear direction for the project and future concepts. Our goal is to maintain the human scale that led to our success then develop major titles sequentially,” the producer said.

The size of Sandfall generated significant conversation following launch. Certain industry figures, like Hideo Kojima, looked at Sandfall’s team as the “ideal” for game development. While Sandfall was and is relatively lean versus large developers, a quick look at Expedition 33’s credits reveals many individuals were involved; the French studio contracted a Korean team handling movement and effects, to illustrate.

“Some hiring will occur a bit more definitely if we have a future production surge in the coming years,” the producer said. “However, I envision more of a workshop comprising a handful highly skilled individuals that can make collective masterpieces.” He noted that the studio's philosophy as a studio “is more to maintain the successful elements that enabled this success originally.”

While it may be too early for Sandfall to disclose concrete plans what’s next — and trust me, I attempted to learn more — the team does know what’s at its core. “The turn-based aspect, is integral to our identity of this project,” the lead programmer remarked. “It's a bit too early to announce what will interest us, yet we must to adhere to our studio's essence through compelling worlds plus innovative play that inspires the team.”

They mentioned how this game originated from the visionary developing his passion title. It is hoped that philosophy will be repeated with upcoming games.”