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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't just a strong GOTY contender, but also an enormous commercial success. Developer Sandfall Interactive and publisher Kepler Interactive announced that this title exceeded five million copies sold, this is even with it being a launch-day addition on Xbox Game Pass.

Its success came as quite a shock for the team. I was convinced that we would have an enjoyable experience garnering reasonable sales results,” the COO and producer stated.

A technical director pointed out this title's review aggregate, which currently sits at 93, was “maybe the biggest shock for everyone relative to “our initial expectations and the final result proved to be. Because when it dropped the entire team was screaming and jumping. It felt absolutely wild.”

The positive reception resulted in the studio creating a free update for the title including novel settings, adversaries, along with challenging bosses, as announced would be out sometime soon.

That said, despite the game's evolution, don’t expect the studio to grow. Our team includes an excellent group guided by a visionary director with a clear direction for this game and future concepts. We'd like to keep the small-team dynamic that led to our success then develop one big game after another,” the producer said.

The size of Sandfall drummed up significant conversation following launch. Certain industry figures, such as the famed director, looked at Sandfall’s team as a perfect example for game development. Despite being indeed a small team compared to its AAA counterparts, a quick look at Expedition 33’s credits indicates dozens of people were involved; Sandfall contracted a Korean team handling movement and effects, for example.

“We will hire slightly more certainly when facing a future production surge in the coming years,” the producer said. “But I would see rather a creative atelier with a small number of really talented people capable of producing a work of art together.” They emphasized that Sandfall’s vision as developers “focuses on preserving the successful elements that enabled this success originally.”

Despite being too early for Sandfall to say specifically about future projects — believe me, efforts were made — the team does know their essential identity. “Strategic combat, I think it's in the DNA of our creations,” a developer remarked. “It's still premature to announce what will interest us, however, it's crucial to stay true to the DNA of studio featuring rich storytelling and engaging mechanics that drives our passion.”

The lead programmer noted how this game originated from their director pursuing his ideal project. And hopefully this approach we can continue with upcoming games.”