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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not only a top GOTY contender, but also an enormous sales triumph. Developer Sandfall Interactive and publisher their publishing partner announced that this title exceeded five million copies sold, and that’s even with it being a day-one release on Xbox Game Pass.

The game's performance came as an unexpected turn for the team. “I was strongly believing that we would have an enjoyable experience that would meet some average commercial success,” the COO and producer commented.

A technical director pointed out this title's review aggregate, which currently sits at 93, was “maybe the biggest shock to the studio versus “our initial expectations and what the reality proved to be. Once it was published everybody in the studio celebrated excitedly. The energy was electric.”

The positive reception prompted Sandfall developing a complimentary expansion for the title featuring fresh areas, adversaries, plus epic encounters, which they said would be out sometime soon.

That said, while the game is growing, don’t expect they'll hire extensively. We've built a talented crew guided by a visionary director with a clear direction for our work and future concepts. Our goal is to maintain the close-knit size that led to our success then develop one big game after another,” the executive noted.

Their team size drummed up a storm of discussion when the game came out. A few well-known creators, like Hideo Kojima, viewed the development group as a perfect example for a studio. While Sandfall was and is relatively lean versus large developers, checking the title's staff list indicates many individuals participated; the French studio partnered with overseas animators handling movement and effects, for example.

“Some hiring will occur slightly more for sure when facing an increase in development down the line,” the producer said. “But I would see rather a creative atelier of a few exceptionally gifted creators that create collective masterpieces.” They emphasized that Sandfall’s vision as developers “aims to keep the strengths that led to this accomplishment originally.”

Although it's too early for Sandfall to say specifically about future projects — believe me, I attempted to learn more — the developers understand what’s at its core. “Turn-based gameplay, forms the foundation of this project,” they explained. “It's a bit too early to announce what will interest us, however, it's crucial to remain faithful to the DNA of studio featuring rich storytelling and engaging mechanics that drives our passion.”

They mentioned how this game began with their director “work[ing] on his dream game. It is hoped this approach we will be able to do in coming projects.”