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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't just an impressive Game of the Year contender, but also a huge financial hit. Developer Sandfall Interactive and publisher Kepler Interactive revealed that this title topped 5 million units in sales, and that’s despite it being a launch-day addition on Xbox Game Pass.

Its success came as quite an unexpected turn to the developers. I firmly believed that we would have an enjoyable experience achieving reasonable sales results,” a senior team member explained.

A technical director remarked that Clair Obscur’s Metacritic rating, now standing at 93, came as the greatest surprise” for everyone relative to what we anticipated and what the reality turned out to be. Once it was published all staff members were cheering loudly. It felt absolutely wild.”

This triumph prompted the studio creating new free content for players with a new environment, adversaries, and boss fights, reportedly will release sometime soon.

Nevertheless, while the game is growing, fans shouldn't anticipate the studio to grow. “We have a great team under clear creative leadership with a clear direction for the project and also for new ideas. We intend to preserve the small-team dynamic that worked for this game and do maybe one big game after another,” the producer said.

Their team size drummed up plenty of debate upon the title's release. Some developers, including renowned designers, looked at the development group as a perfect example for game development. While Sandfall was and is relatively lean compared to its AAA counterparts, checking the title's staff list shows that dozens of people participated; Sandfall partnered with overseas animators handling movement and effects, as an instance.

“We will hire a bit more for sure if we have next an upcoming production peak in upcoming years,” they stated. “But I would see more of a workshop of a few highly skilled individuals capable of producing collective masterpieces.” He noted that Sandfall’s vision as developers “is more to maintain the successful elements that led to this accomplishment originally.”

Despite being not the right time to disclose concrete plans regarding upcoming titles — rest assured, I attempted to learn more — they are certain what’s at its core. “Strategic combat, I think it's in the DNA of our creations,” a developer said. “It's still premature to announce future passions, but it's important also to adhere to the DNA of studio featuring rich storytelling plus innovative play that excites us.”

The developer added that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 began with their director “work[ing] on his dream game. We aspire that's something we can continue with upcoming games.”