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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not only an impressive Game of the Year contender, but also a massive financial hit. Studio Sandfall Interactive along with publisher their publishing partner announced that the game topped five million copies sold, and that’s despite its status as a day-one release on Xbox Game Pass.

Its success was an unexpected turn to the developers. I firmly believed that we'd create an enjoyable experience achieving moderate commercial success,” a senior team member commented.

The CTO and lead programmer pointed out this title's critical score, rated 93 by critics, was the most surprising moment to the team relative to what we anticipated and what the reality proved to be. Once it was published the entire team were cheering loudly. It was really frantic.”

This triumph has led to Sandfall developing a complimentary expansion for the game featuring fresh areas, foes, plus epic encounters, as announced will release in the next few months.

Nevertheless, as the title expands, it's unlikely the team will expand. We've built an excellent group under clear creative leadership possessing strong ideas for this game and also for new ideas. We intend to preserve the close-knit size that made this possible then develop one big game after another,” the producer added.

The size of Sandfall generated plenty of debate following launch. A few well-known creators, such as the famed director, considered Sandfall’s team as the “ideal” for a studio. While Sandfall was and is truly compact next to major studios, one glance at the title's staff list shows that many individuals were involved; Sandfall contracted a Korean team for animation work, as an instance.

“Some hiring will occur slightly more for sure if we have next an upcoming production peak down the line,” the producer said. “However, I envision essentially a craft studio of a few exceptionally gifted creators capable of producing a work of art together.” He noted that their core belief as developers “is more to maintain the key advantages that enabled this success in the first place.”

Despite being too early for Sandfall to disclose concrete plans what’s next — believe me, I attempted to learn more — the team does know their fundamental principles. “The turn-based aspect, forms the foundation of this project,” the lead programmer said. “It's a bit too early to announce what will interest us, but it's important also to adhere to the DNA of studio featuring rich storytelling plus innovative play that drives our passion.”

The developer noted that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 began with the creative director developing his passion title. It is hoped that philosophy will be repeated in coming projects.”