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The game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not only an impressive GOTY candidate, but also a massive sales triumph. Developer Sandfall Interactive and publisher their publishing partner disclosed that this title topped 5 million units in sales, and that’s even with its status as a launch-day addition through the Game Pass service.

The game's performance came as quite a surprise to the developers. I firmly believed that we'd create a good game garnering some average sales results,” a key executive stated.

Another leading developer remarked the game's review aggregate, rated 93 by critics, came as perhaps the most surprising moment to the studio relative to “our initial expectations and the final result of the field was. Once it was published everybody in the studio celebrated excitedly. The energy was electric.”

That success prompted work on a complimentary expansion for the game with a new environment, foes, along with challenging bosses, which they said is coming sometime soon.

That said, while the game is growing, fans shouldn't anticipate they'll hire extensively. Our team includes a great team guided by a visionary director with a clear direction for our work and future concepts. We intend to preserve the close-knit size that led to our success then develop major titles sequentially,” the producer added.

Their team size sparked a storm of discussion following launch. Certain industry figures, like Hideo Kojima, viewed this studio as a perfect example for creative teams. Although the team is and was truly compact versus large developers, a quick look at the title's staff list shows that dozens of people were involved; the French studio contracted a Korean team handling movement and effects, as an instance.

“Some hiring will occur slightly more definitely should there be an increase in development down the line,” they commented. “However, I envision more of a workshop comprising a handful really talented people that can make a work of art together.” They emphasized that the studio's philosophy as a company “aims to keep the key advantages that made this achievement possible in the first place.”

Despite being premature for the studio to reveal exact details what’s next — believe me, efforts were made — the developers understand their essential identity. “The turn-based aspect, is integral to our identity of our creations,” they said. “It's still premature to announce what will interest us, yet we must to stay true to our creative core with [a] strong narrative universe plus innovative play that inspires the team.”

The lead programmer added that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 began with their director “work[ing] on his dream game. And hopefully that philosophy will be repeated as well for future productions.”