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The game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't just a strong GOTY contender, but also a massive commercial success. Studio Sandfall Interactive along with publisher their publishing partner disclosed that this title exceeded five million copies sold, and that’s in spite of it being a launch-day addition on Xbox Game Pass.

This achievement was an unexpected turn to the developers. I firmly believed that we'd create a good game that would meet reasonable commercial success,” a key executive stated.

A technical director remarked this title's review aggregate, rated 93 by critics, was the most surprising moment to the studio relative to what we anticipated and what the reality proved to be. Because when it dropped the entire team was screaming and jumping. It felt absolutely wild.”

This triumph has led to Sandfall developing new free content for the title including novel settings, adversaries, plus epic encounters, which they said is coming in the next few months.

However, while the game is growing, don’t expect the team will expand. Our team includes an excellent group guided by a visionary director who has a great vision for our work and future concepts. We intend to preserve the small-team dynamic that led to our success then develop one big game after another,” the producer added.

The size of Sandfall generated significant conversation following launch. Some developers, such as the famed director, looked at Sandfall’s team as the “ideal” for a studio. Despite being indeed a small team versus large developers, checking Expedition 33’s credits reveals numerous contributors participated; Sandfall contracted a Korean team for animation work, as an instance.

“Some hiring will occur a bit more certainly if we have an increase in development in the coming years,” the producer commented. “Yet I picture more of a workshop with a small number of really talented people capable of producing collective masterpieces.” He noted that Sandfall’s vision as a company “aims to keep the successful elements that enabled this success originally.”

Although it's not the right time to disclose concrete plans about future projects — and trust me, I tried to get them to — they are certain what’s at its core. “The turn-based aspect, is integral to our identity of what we built,” a developer explained. “It's a bit too early to announce our next interests, however, it's crucial to remain faithful to our studio's essence through compelling worlds plus innovative play that drives our passion.”

The lead programmer noted that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 started with the visionary pursuing his ideal project. It is hoped this approach we will be able to do with upcoming games.”