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The game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't just a top Game of the Year candidate, it’s also a huge commercial success. Studio Sandfall Interactive and publisher Kepler Interactive announced that the game topped 5 million units sold, this is even with it being a launch-day addition on Xbox Game Pass.

Its success came as a surprise to the developers. I firmly believed that we would have a solid title that would meet some average commercial success,” the COO and producer stated.

A technical director pointed out the game's critical score, rated 93 by critics, was the greatest surprise” to the team relative to “our initial expectations and what the reality proved to be. Once it was published the entire team celebrated excitedly. The energy was electric.”

This triumph prompted work on a free update for the game with a new environment, foes, plus epic encounters, as announced will release in the next few months.

However, despite the game's evolution, it's unlikely the team will expand. Our team includes an excellent group guided by a visionary director who has a great vision for this game and future concepts. We intend to preserve the small-team dynamic that worked for this game then develop major titles sequentially,” the producer said.

The studio's scale generated a storm of discussion upon the title's release. Some developers, including renowned designers, viewed the development group as the “ideal” for creative teams. While Sandfall was and is relatively lean compared to its AAA counterparts, checking Expedition 33’s credits indicates numerous contributors participated; the French studio hired a team in Korea for animation work, as an instance.

“We will hire a bit more certainly should there be an increase in development in the coming years,” the producer said. “However, I envision essentially a craft studio of a few really talented people that can make artistic collaborations.” It was stated that their core belief as a studio “is more to maintain the key advantages that led to this accomplishment from the start.”

Although it's premature for the studio to reveal exact details what’s next — and trust me, I attempted to learn more — they are certain what’s at its core. “Strategic combat, is integral to our identity of what we built,” they said. “It's still premature to announce our next interests, yet we must to remain faithful to the DNA of studio through compelling worlds and the interesting gameplay that drives our passion.”

The developer noted that the project started with their director pursuing his ideal project. And hopefully this approach will be repeated as well for future productions.”