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The game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't just an impressive GOTY contender, it’s also a massive sales triumph. Studio the development team along with publisher Kepler Interactive announced that this title exceeded five million copies in sales, and that’s even with its status as a launch-day addition on Xbox Game Pass.

Its success came as an unexpected turn to Sandfall. I was convinced that we'd create an enjoyable experience garnering reasonable sales results,” the COO and producer explained.

The CTO and lead programmer remarked that Clair Obscur’s review aggregate, which currently sits at 93, was the most surprising moment to the studio versus what we anticipated and the final result turned out to be. When the score released all staff members celebrated excitedly. It felt absolutely wild.”

The positive reception has led to the studio creating a complimentary expansion for players featuring fresh areas, adversaries, along with challenging bosses, as announced will release sometime soon.

That said, as the title expands, it's unlikely the studio to grow. We've built a talented crew guided by a visionary director with a clear direction for this game and also for new ideas. We'd like to keep the human scale that led to our success and do maybe major titles sequentially,” the executive noted.

Their team size drummed up plenty of debate upon the title's release. Certain industry figures, such as the famed director, looked at Sandfall’s team as a perfect example for game development. Despite being truly compact next to major studios, checking Expedition 33’s credits shows that dozens of people participated; the French studio partnered with overseas animators for animation work, for example.

“Some hiring will occur a little more definitely if we have next an upcoming production peak down the line,” the executive said. “Yet I picture rather a creative atelier comprising a handful exceptionally gifted creators that create a work of art together.” He noted that their core belief as a company “aims to keep the strengths that made this achievement possible originally.”

Although it's too early for Sandfall to disclose concrete plans regarding upcoming titles — believe me, efforts were made — they are certain what’s at its core. “Turn-based gameplay, forms the foundation of this project,” the lead programmer said. “It's still premature to be able to tell our next interests, yet we must to adhere to the DNA of studio through compelling worlds plus innovative play that excites us.”

The lead programmer mentioned that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 began with the visionary “work[ing] on his dream game. It is hoped this approach we will be able to do with upcoming games.”