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The game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't just a strong GOTY candidate, it’s also an enormous commercial success. Studio Sandfall Interactive along with publisher Kepler Interactive disclosed that this title topped 5 million units in sales, and that’s in spite of it being a launch-day addition on Xbox Game Pass.

The game's performance came as quite a surprise to Sandfall. “I was strongly believing that we would have a good game achieving moderate commercial success,” a key executive explained.

Another leading developer remarked this title's review aggregate, rated 93 by critics, came as perhaps “maybe the biggest shock for everyone relative to “our initial expectations and the final result proved to be. When the score released all staff members was screaming and jumping. It was really frantic.”

This triumph prompted Sandfall developing a complimentary expansion for the title with a new environment, foes, and boss fights, which they said is coming in the next few months.

Nevertheless, as the title expands, don’t expect the team will expand. “We have a great team under clear creative leadership with a clear direction for the project and also for new ideas. Our goal is to maintain the close-knit size that worked for this game and do maybe large projects one by one,” they said.

Their team size sparked a storm of discussion upon the title's release. A few well-known creators, including renowned designers, looked at Sandfall’s team as a perfect example for creative teams. Although the team is and was relatively lean versus large developers, checking Expedition 33’s credits indicates dozens of people participated; the French studio partnered with overseas animators to work on gameplay animations, as an instance.

“We plan to recruit slightly more certainly should there be next an upcoming production peak in the coming years,” they said. “However, I envision essentially a craft studio comprising a handful highly skilled individuals capable of producing a work of art together.” It was stated that their core belief as developers “is more to maintain the successful elements that enabled this success from the start.”

Although it's too early for Sandfall to disclose concrete plans regarding upcoming titles — and trust me, I attempted to learn more — they are certain their fundamental principles. “The turn-based aspect, I think it's in the DNA of our creations,” the lead programmer remarked. “It's still premature to specify our next interests, however, it's crucial to stay true to our studio's essence with [a] strong narrative universe and engaging mechanics that excites us.”

They added that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 originated from their director “work[ing] on his dream game. It is hoped that's something we will be able to do with upcoming games.”