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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't just a top GOTY candidate, but also a huge sales triumph. Developer Sandfall Interactive along with publisher Kepler Interactive announced that this title topped 5 million units sold, and that’s in spite of it being a launch-day addition through the Game Pass service.

The game's performance came as quite a shock for the team. I was convinced that we would have an enjoyable experience garnering moderate market performance,” the COO and producer commented.

The CTO and lead programmer remarked this title's review aggregate, rated 93 by critics, came as “maybe the biggest shock to the studio versus our early predictions and what the reality turned out to be. When the score released all staff members was screaming and jumping. The energy was electric.”

The positive reception has led to the studio creating a complimentary expansion for the game including novel settings, foes, and boss fights, reportedly is coming in the next few months.

That said, while the game is growing, don’t expect the studio to grow. We've built a talented crew with a strong creative director possessing strong ideas for this game and future concepts. We intend to preserve the close-knit size that worked for this game then develop major titles sequentially,” the executive said.

The size of Sandfall generated significant conversation when the game came out. A few well-known creators, such as the famed director, looked at the development group as the “ideal” for game development. Despite being truly compact compared to its AAA counterparts, checking Expedition 33’s credits reveals numerous contributors worked on it; Sandfall partnered with overseas animators handling movement and effects, for example.

“We will hire a bit more certainly when facing a future production surge down the line,” they stated. “But I would see essentially a craft studio comprising a handful highly skilled individuals capable of producing artistic collaborations.” They emphasized that the studio's philosophy as a studio “focuses on preserving the key advantages that led to this accomplishment from the start.”

Despite being too early for Sandfall to disclose concrete plans about future projects — and trust me, I tried to get them to — the team does know their fundamental principles. “Strategic combat, forms the foundation of what we built,” the lead programmer remarked. “It's still premature to be able to tell our next interests, but it's important also to adhere to our creative core with [a] strong narrative universe plus innovative play that drives our passion.”

The lead programmer added that the project originated from their director “work[ing] on his dream game. It is hoped that philosophy we can continue as well for future productions.”