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The game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not only a strong Game of the Year candidate, but also a massive financial hit. Developer Sandfall Interactive along with publisher Kepler Interactive revealed that this title topped 5 million units in sales, this is in spite of it being a launch-day addition on Xbox Game Pass.

This achievement came as a surprise to Sandfall. I was convinced that we would have an enjoyable experience that would meet moderate commercial success,” a key executive commented.

Another leading developer remarked that Clair Obscur’s Metacritic rating, now standing at 93, was the most surprising moment to the studio relative to “our initial expectations and what the reality turned out to be. When the score released everybody in the studio was screaming and jumping. The energy was electric.”

The positive reception has led to Sandfall developing new free content for players including novel settings, foes, plus epic encounters, which they said is coming in the next few months.

Nevertheless, while the game is growing, fans shouldn't anticipate the studio to grow. “We have a talented crew guided by a visionary director who has a great vision for this game plus upcoming innovations. We'd like to keep the small-team dynamic that made this possible and do maybe large projects one by one,” the producer noted.

Their team size drummed up plenty of debate upon the title's release. Certain industry figures, such as the famed director, looked at the development group as a perfect example for game development. Although the team is and was relatively lean next to major studios, one glance at the title's staff list indicates dozens of people worked on it; Sandfall contracted a Korean team for animation work, as an instance.

“We will hire slightly more for sure should there be next an upcoming production peak down the line,” they said. “But I would see more of a workshop with a small number of highly skilled individuals capable of producing artistic collaborations.” They emphasized that Sandfall’s vision as a studio “focuses on preserving the successful elements that enabled this success in the first place.”

While it may be too early for Sandfall to reveal exact details what’s next — believe me, I tried to get them to — the developers understand their essential identity. “Turn-based gameplay, I think it's in the DNA of what we built,” they explained. “It's a bit too early to be able to tell our next interests, but it's important also to remain faithful to the DNA of studio through compelling worlds plus innovative play that inspires the team.”

They mentioned that the project began with the visionary “work[ing] on his dream game. We aspire that's something we can continue as well for future productions.”