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The game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not only an impressive GOTY contender, but also an enormous sales triumph. Developer Sandfall Interactive along with publisher Kepler Interactive disclosed that the game exceeded five million copies sold, this is even with it being a day-one release through the Game Pass service.

The game's performance was a surprise to the developers. I was convinced that we would have an enjoyable experience achieving reasonable market performance,” a key executive explained.

A technical director remarked this title's Metacritic rating, which currently sits at 93, came as perhaps the most surprising moment to the studio relative to what we anticipated and the final result of the field was. When the score released the entire team were cheering loudly. The energy was electric.”

This triumph resulted in the studio creating a free update for the title featuring fresh areas, foes, and boss fights, as announced will release sometime soon.

Nevertheless, despite the game's evolution, fans shouldn't anticipate the studio to grow. Our team includes an excellent group with a strong creative director who has a great vision for our work plus upcoming innovations. We intend to preserve the close-knit size that led to our success and perhaps create major titles sequentially,” the executive added.

Their team size drummed up significant conversation upon the title's release. Certain industry figures, such as the famed director, looked at the development group as the model for a studio. Although the team is and was indeed a small team compared to its AAA counterparts, a quick look at the title's staff list reveals dozens of people were involved; the French studio contracted a Korean team for animation work, to illustrate.

“We will hire slightly more definitely when facing a future production surge in the coming years,” the executive commented. “Yet I picture more of a workshop with a small number of really talented people capable of producing collective masterpieces.” He noted that Sandfall’s vision as a company “is more to maintain the strengths that led to this accomplishment originally.”

Although it's premature for the studio to disclose concrete plans about future projects — rest assured, I attempted to learn more — the team does know what’s at its core. “The turn-based aspect, forms the foundation of what we built,” they explained. “The timing isn't right to specify future passions, however, it's crucial to adhere to our studio's essence featuring rich storytelling plus innovative play that inspires the team.”

The lead programmer added how this game originated from their director developing his passion title. It is hoped that's something we will be able to do with upcoming games.”