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The game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not only a strong Game of the Year contender, it’s also a huge commercial success. Studio Sandfall Interactive and publisher Kepler Interactive disclosed that the game exceeded five million copies sold, this is even with it being a launch-day addition on Xbox Game Pass.

The game's performance came as quite a shock to Sandfall. I was convinced that we would have an enjoyable experience achieving reasonable commercial success,” the COO and producer explained.

A technical director remarked that Clair Obscur’s review aggregate, which currently sits at 93, was the most surprising moment to the team compared to what we anticipated and the actual outcome turned out to be. When the score released all staff members were cheering loudly. It was really frantic.”

The positive reception prompted work on a free update for the title including novel settings, adversaries, and boss fights, which they said will release in the next few months.

That said, while the game is growing, fans shouldn't anticipate they'll hire extensively. Our team includes a great team with a strong creative director with a clear direction for the project and also for new ideas. Our goal is to maintain the small-team dynamic that worked for this game and perhaps create large projects one by one,” they noted.

The size of Sandfall generated a storm of discussion when the game came out. Certain industry figures, including renowned designers, viewed the development group as the “ideal” for creative teams. Despite being indeed a small team next to major studios, checking the title's staff list indicates dozens of people were involved; Sandfall hired a team in Korea for animation work, to illustrate.

“We will hire a bit more certainly when facing a future production surge down the line,” the producer commented. “But I would see essentially a craft studio of a few really talented people that create a work of art together.” He noted that the studio's philosophy as a studio “is more to maintain the key advantages that led to this accomplishment in the first place.”

While it may be premature for the studio to disclose concrete plans about future projects — rest assured, I attempted to learn more — they are certain their fundamental principles. “The turn-based aspect, I think it's in the DNA of this project,” the lead programmer said. “It's a bit too early to be able to tell future passions, but it's important also to adhere to our studio's essence with [a] strong narrative universe plus innovative play that inspires the team.”

The lead programmer added that the project began with the creative director pursuing his ideal project. It is hoped this approach we can continue in coming projects.”