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The game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't just an impressive GOTY candidate, but also a huge financial hit. Developer the development team along with publisher Kepler Interactive announced that the game exceeded 5 million units in sales, this is despite its status as a launch-day addition through the Game Pass service.

Its success was a surprise to Sandfall. I was convinced that we'd create a solid title achieving some average commercial success,” the COO and producer commented.

The CTO and lead programmer remarked the game's critical score, which currently sits at 93, was the greatest surprise” for everyone versus “our initial expectations and what the reality proved to be. When the score released everybody in the studio celebrated excitedly. The energy was electric.”

That success resulted in work on a complimentary expansion for the title with a new environment, enemies, and boss fights, reportedly is coming within the “upcoming month[s]”.

However, despite the game's evolution, it's unlikely the team will expand. We've built an excellent group with a strong creative director with a clear direction for this game plus upcoming innovations. We'd like to keep the human scale that led to our success and perhaps create major titles sequentially,” the producer noted.

The size of Sandfall sparked plenty of debate following launch. Certain industry figures, like Hideo Kojima, considered this studio as a perfect example for creative teams. Despite being relatively lean versus large developers, one glance at the title's staff list shows that dozens of people were involved; the French studio contracted a Korean team for animation work, to illustrate.

“We will hire a little more definitely when facing a future production surge in the coming years,” the producer commented. “Yet I picture more of a workshop with a small number of really talented people that can make a work of art together.” It was stated that the studio's philosophy as a company “aims to keep the key advantages that led to this accomplishment originally.”

While it may be too early for Sandfall to disclose concrete plans regarding upcoming titles — believe me, I attempted to learn more — they are certain their essential identity. “The turn-based aspect, is integral to our identity of this project,” a developer said. “It's a bit too early to announce our next interests, yet we must to adhere to the DNA of studio with [a] strong narrative universe and engaging mechanics that excites us.”

They mentioned that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 began with the visionary pursuing his ideal project. It is hoped that's something we can continue in coming projects.”