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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not only an impressive Game of the Year contender, but also a massive financial hit. Developer Sandfall Interactive along with publisher Kepler Interactive disclosed that the game surpassed five million copies in sales, and that’s in spite of its status as a day-one release on Xbox Game Pass.

Its success came as an unexpected turn for the team. I was convinced that we would have a good game achieving some average commercial success,” a key executive commented.

A technical director pointed out this title's review aggregate, rated 93 by critics, was the greatest surprise” to the team relative to our early predictions and the final result of the field was. When the score released the entire team was screaming and jumping. It felt absolutely wild.”

This triumph resulted in work on a free update for players including novel settings, foes, and boss fights, which they said would be out within the “upcoming month[s]”.

However, despite the game's evolution, it's unlikely they'll hire extensively. “We have a talented crew guided by a visionary director possessing strong ideas for the project and future concepts. We intend to preserve the close-knit size that led to our success and perhaps create one big game after another,” they added.

Their team size drummed up plenty of debate following launch. Certain industry figures, such as the famed director, viewed Sandfall’s team as the “ideal” for creative teams. Although the team is and was indeed a small team versus large developers, a quick look at the game's credits reveals numerous contributors participated; the French studio partnered with overseas animators to work on gameplay animations, to illustrate.

“We will hire a bit more certainly when facing next an upcoming production peak in the coming years,” the producer said. “But I would see more of a workshop comprising a handful exceptionally gifted creators that create collective masterpieces.” It was stated that their core belief as developers “aims to keep the strengths that enabled this success from the start.”

While it may be too early for Sandfall to reveal exact details regarding upcoming titles — and trust me, I tried to get them to — the developers understand what’s at its core. “Turn-based gameplay, I think it's in the DNA of our creations,” a developer explained. “It's a bit too early to specify what will interest us, yet we must to stay true to our studio's essence featuring rich storytelling plus innovative play that drives our passion.”

They added how this game originated from the creative director developing his passion title. We aspire that's something we can continue as well for future productions.”