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The game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not only an impressive GOTY contender, but also a massive sales triumph. Developer the development team and publisher their publishing partner revealed that the game topped five million copies in sales, this is in spite of it being a launch-day addition on Xbox Game Pass.

This achievement was a shock to Sandfall. I was convinced that we'd create an enjoyable experience that would meet moderate market performance,” a senior team member stated.

Another leading developer pointed out that Clair Obscur’s review aggregate, which currently sits at 93, came as perhaps “maybe the biggest shock to the team relative to “our initial expectations and the actual outcome of the field was. Once it was published everybody in the studio celebrated excitedly. The energy was electric.”

That success has led to Sandfall developing a free update for the game including novel settings, enemies, along with challenging bosses, reportedly would be out in the next few months.

That said, while the game is growing, don’t expect the studio to grow. Our team includes a talented crew with a strong creative director possessing strong ideas for our work and future concepts. Our goal is to maintain the small-team dynamic that made this possible then develop large projects one by one,” the producer noted.

The size of Sandfall sparked plenty of debate upon the title's release. Certain industry figures, like Hideo Kojima, considered the development group as a perfect example for a studio. While Sandfall was and is relatively lean next to major studios, checking Expedition 33’s credits shows that many individuals were involved; the French studio partnered with overseas animators for animation work, for example.

“Some hiring will occur slightly more definitely should there be an increase in development down the line,” the executive commented. “However, I envision more of a workshop of a few highly skilled individuals that can make a work of art together.” It was stated that their core belief 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 disclose concrete plans regarding upcoming titles — believe me, I attempted to learn more — they are certain their essential identity. “Turn-based gameplay, forms the foundation of our creations,” a developer remarked. “It's a bit too early to be able to tell what will interest us, but it's important also to stay true to the DNA of studio with [a] strong narrative universe plus innovative play that inspires the team.”

The lead programmer added how this game started with the creative director developing his passion title. It is hoped this approach we will be able to do in coming projects.”