Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has emerged as both a contender for Game of the Year and a surprising commercial triumph. Sandfall Interactive and publisher Kepler Interactive revealed this week that the title has surpassed 5 million copies sold — an impressive milestone made in spite of the game launching day one on Xbox Game Pass.
Sandfall’s leadership said the scale of the success exceeded their expectations. “I expected we’d make a solid game that would find average commercial traction,” COO and producer François Meurisse told Polygon in a video interview, conceding that the results have been far stronger than anticipated.
CTO and lead programmer Tom Guillermin said the game’s critical reception — currently reflected in a 93 Metacritic score — was perhaps the team’s biggest surprise. “When the score landed, everyone in the studio erupted,” he said. “The reaction was chaotic in the best way.” Metacritic listing.
Image: Sandfall Interactive/Kepler InteractiveRiding that momentum, Sandfall is preparing a free update that will introduce a new locale, fresh adversaries, and additional boss encounters; Meurisse indicated the patch will arrive within the coming months. Still, the studio says it intends to preserve its compact structure rather than expand aggressively.
“We’ve got a tight-knit team led by a strong creative director, Guillaume Broche, who has a clear vision for this universe and future ideas,” Meurisse said. “We want to stay at a human scale that let us craft this experience, and continue making one standout game after another.”
The studio’s modest size sparked conversation after release. Industry figures such as Hideo Kojima praised Sandfall as an example of an “ideal” development team. While Sandfall operates far below typical AAA headcounts, the credits for Expedition 33 list many contributors — including a Korea-based team hired to handle gameplay animations — underscoring the broader collaboration behind the project. Rock Paper Shotgun coverage.
Meurisse added that Sandfall may add staff around future production peaks, but only selectively. “We’ll hire more when needed, yet I picture a small workshop of exceptional people making art together,” he said, emphasizing the desire to retain the creative strengths that enabled their success.
Though the studio hasn’t announced concrete plans beyond post-launch support, Guillermin stressed what remains central to Sandfall’s identity. “Turn-based mechanics are part of our DNA,” he said. “It’s too early to map out every direction, but we want to remain faithful to a studio identity defined by a strong narrative universe and gameplay that excites us.”
Guillermin also recalled how the project began: Broche “working on his dream game,” a passion project the team hopes will continue to shape future productions.
Source: Polygon
