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The game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't just an impressive Game of the Year candidate, it’s also an enormous sales triumph. Studio the development team and publisher Kepler Interactive revealed that this title surpassed 5 million units sold, and that’s in spite of it being a launch-day addition through the Game Pass service.

Its success came as a surprise to Sandfall. I was convinced that we'd create a good game garnering some average commercial success,” a key executive stated.

The CTO and lead programmer pointed out the game's review aggregate, now standing at 93, was the greatest surprise” to the studio compared to our early predictions and the final result turned out to be. When the score released everybody in the studio were cheering loudly. It was really frantic.”

The positive reception resulted in the studio creating a free update for players with a new environment, adversaries, and boss fights, which they said will release sometime soon.

However, as the title expands, don’t expect the team will expand. Our team includes an excellent group guided by a visionary director who has a great vision for the project and also for new ideas. We'd like to keep the small-team dynamic that made this possible then develop large projects one by one,” they added.

The size of Sandfall generated a storm of discussion following launch. Certain industry figures, including renowned designers, viewed the development group as a perfect example for game development. Despite being relatively lean compared to its AAA counterparts, one glance at the title's staff list shows that many individuals worked on it; Sandfall contracted a Korean team handling movement and effects, to illustrate.

“We plan to recruit slightly more for sure when facing a future production surge in the coming years,” they commented. “Yet I picture rather a creative atelier with a small number of really talented people capable of producing artistic collaborations.” He noted that their core belief as a company “aims to keep the strengths that made this achievement possible in the first place.”

Although it's too early for Sandfall to reveal exact details what’s next — rest assured, I attempted to learn more — the developers understand what’s at its core. “Strategic combat, forms the foundation of our creations,” the lead programmer said. “It's a bit too early to specify our next interests, however, it's crucial to adhere to the DNA of studio featuring rich storytelling and engaging mechanics that drives our passion.”

The developer noted how this game started with their director developing his passion title. It is hoped that philosophy we can continue with upcoming games.”