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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't just a top Game of the Year contender, it’s also an enormous financial hit. Studio the development team along with publisher their publishing partner revealed that this title topped 5 million units sold, this is despite it being a day-one release through the Game Pass service.

The game's performance came as quite a surprise to Sandfall. I firmly believed that we'd create an enjoyable experience achieving moderate sales results,” the COO and producer explained.

Another leading developer pointed out the game's Metacritic rating, now standing at 93, came as the greatest surprise” for everyone versus our early predictions and the actual outcome of the field was. Because when it dropped the entire team were cheering loudly. It was really frantic.”

The positive reception has led to work on new free content for the title including novel settings, foes, along with challenging bosses, reportedly will release in the next few months.

However, while the game is growing, it's unlikely the team will expand. “We have a great team with a strong creative director possessing strong ideas for this game plus upcoming innovations. We intend to preserve the close-knit size that made this possible and perhaps create one big game after another,” the executive noted.

The studio's scale drummed up plenty of debate following launch. A few well-known creators, including renowned designers, looked at this studio as the “ideal” for creative teams. Although the team is and was relatively lean next to major studios, a quick look at the title's staff list indicates dozens of people were involved; Sandfall hired a team in Korea to work on gameplay animations, for example.

“We will hire a bit more certainly if we have a future production surge down the line,” the executive commented. “Yet I picture essentially a craft studio comprising a handful exceptionally gifted creators that can make a work of art together.” He noted that their core belief as a company “aims to keep the successful elements that enabled this success in the first place.”

While it may be not the right time to reveal exact details what’s next — and trust me, I tried to get them to — they are certain their fundamental principles. “Turn-based gameplay, is integral to our identity of this project,” they said. “It's still premature to be able to tell our next interests, however, it's crucial to remain faithful to our studio's essence with [a] strong narrative universe and engaging mechanics that drives our passion.”

They noted how this game originated from the creative director pursuing his ideal project. It is hoped that philosophy will be repeated as well for future productions.”