Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 dev assures: „We want our next game to be real and authentic”

"Real" and "authentic"—that's what the next game from the developers of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is supposed to be.

It's been almost six months and 5 million copies later, and there's no doubt now: Sandfall Interactive's game is a strong contender for GOTY, even with some tough competition. Although the French jRPG hasn't topped the bestseller lists enough to threaten the biggest releases of the year, the success of Expedition 33 has far exceeded the developers' expectations, allowing them to calmly think about the future.

A small team and narrative risk

The devs mentioned both of these issues in an interview with 3DJuegos. Of course, the team thought they were making a great game, but in the gaming industry, just believing that doesn't count for much. Therefore, the team tried to rein in their imagination, and even the thought that anyone would cosplay as the characters from Expedition 33 seemed too bold. Now, as Guillaume Broche, the game's Director, put it, "there are thousands of them," and the creators have seen countless enthusiastic reactions from players who appreciated the title.

Nevertheless, the team quickly concluded that even after great success, the studio shouldn't change its strategy. On the contrary, the success of Expedition 33 convinced the creators that their approach was spot on. This means that the developer continues to rely on a small, flexible team, consisting of no more than 50 people (if possible), passionately working on one game at a time.

Such a declaration is not surprising, as in recent years, more and more developers have pointed out (including in the context of mass layoffs at major publishers) that forcefully expanding a team and taking on too many projects is not a good idea. Therefore, Broche likely makes it clear: new hires will only be made when there is a "specific" need.

Of course, expanding the studio a bit would definitely be helpful. About 30 people worked on the studio's first game. There are even smaller teams, but let's be honest: not everyone can afford to polish a new project for 6-8 years, as Team Cherry did.

Nevertheless, we will likely wait a long time for Sandfall Interactive's new game. For now, Broche could not provide any information about it. He only assured that the creators want to stay "honest" with the players and will keep taking risks, especially with the storyline, to make something that's "real" and "authentic." Content and updates for Expedition 33 will also continue to be made (also as a "thank you" to players).

As we have already written, these updates will include extra locations, as well as another playable biome and new bosses.

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review: A beautiful tour de force
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - guide

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

April 24, 2025

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