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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't just an impressive Game of the Year contender, it’s also a huge sales triumph. Developer Sandfall Interactive along with publisher Kepler Interactive disclosed that this title topped five million copies sold, and that’s in spite of it being a day-one release on Xbox Game Pass.

Its success was a surprise to the developers. I was convinced that we would have an enjoyable experience achieving some average sales results,” the COO and producer stated.

Another leading developer pointed out the game's Metacritic rating, which currently sits at 93, came as perhaps “maybe the biggest shock to the studio compared to our early predictions and the actual outcome proved to be. When the score released everybody in the studio celebrated excitedly. The energy was electric.”

That success resulted in work on new free content for players featuring fresh areas, enemies, along with challenging bosses, reportedly would be out in the next few months.

Nevertheless, despite the game's evolution, don’t expect the studio to grow. Our team includes a talented crew guided by a visionary director possessing strong ideas for the project and future concepts. We'd like to keep the small-team dynamic that worked for this game then develop one big game after another,” they noted.

The studio's scale sparked a storm of discussion following launch. Certain industry figures, such as the famed director, considered this studio as the model for a studio. Despite being relatively lean next to major studios, a quick look at Expedition 33’s credits reveals dozens of people participated; the French studio partnered with overseas animators handling movement and effects, for example.

“We will hire a little more certainly should there be an increase in development in the coming years,” they said. “But I would see rather a creative atelier comprising a handful highly skilled individuals capable of producing artistic collaborations.” They emphasized that the studio's philosophy as developers “is more to maintain the strengths that led to this accomplishment originally.”

Although it's not the right time to say specifically regarding upcoming titles — believe me, I tried to get them to — they are certain what’s at its core. “Strategic combat, is integral to our identity of this project,” a developer explained. “It's a bit too early to specify our next interests, however, it's crucial to adhere to our studio's essence through compelling worlds plus innovative play that drives our passion.”

They noted how this game started with the visionary “work[ing] on his dream game. It is hoped that's something we can continue with upcoming games.”