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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't just a top GOTY candidate, but also a huge financial hit. Studio Sandfall Interactive and publisher Kepler Interactive announced that the game exceeded five million copies sold, this is despite its status as a launch-day addition on Xbox Game Pass.

The game's performance came as a shock to Sandfall. I was convinced that we would have an enjoyable experience achieving reasonable commercial success,” the COO and producer commented.

The CTO and lead programmer noted that Clair Obscur’s review aggregate, which currently sits at 93, was the most surprising moment to the studio relative to what we anticipated and what the reality turned out to be. Once it was published the entire team celebrated excitedly. It was really frantic.”

That success prompted the studio creating a complimentary expansion for the game featuring fresh areas, enemies, along with challenging bosses, reportedly would be out sometime soon.

Nevertheless, despite the game's evolution, fans shouldn't anticipate the team will expand. Our team includes an excellent group under clear creative leadership possessing strong ideas for our work plus upcoming innovations. We intend to preserve the close-knit size that worked for this game then develop one big game after another,” the executive added.

The studio's scale generated significant conversation when the game came out. Certain industry figures, like Hideo Kojima, considered this studio as the “ideal” for game development. Although the team is and was indeed a small team compared to its AAA counterparts, one glance at the title's staff list shows that many individuals worked on it; Sandfall hired a team in Korea handling movement and effects, as an instance.

“We will hire a little more for sure should there be an increase in development in the coming years,” they commented. “Yet I picture rather a creative atelier with a small number of exceptionally gifted creators capable of producing artistic collaborations.” They emphasized that Sandfall’s vision as developers “aims to keep the key advantages that enabled this success in the first place.”

While it may be not the right time to reveal exact details regarding upcoming titles — and trust me, I attempted to learn more — they are certain what’s at its core. “Turn-based gameplay, is integral to our identity of our creations,” a developer explained. “The timing isn't right to specify our next interests, but it's important also to adhere to our studio's essence through compelling worlds plus innovative play that drives our passion.”

The lead programmer mentioned that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 originated from the creative director “work[ing] on his dream game. It is hoped this approach will be repeated as well for future productions.”