In spite of Runaway Success, Expedition 33 Creators Intend to Maintain Studio Small
The game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not only an impressive GOTY candidate, but also a huge sales triumph. Developer the development team along with publisher Kepler Interactive disclosed that the game exceeded 5 million units sold, and that’s in spite of its status as a launch-day addition through the Game Pass service.
This achievement came as a shock to Sandfall. I was convinced that we'd create a solid title garnering reasonable sales results,” the COO and producer explained.
A technical director remarked that Clair Obscur’s review aggregate, which currently sits at 93, was “maybe the biggest shock to the studio versus our early predictions and the final result of the field was. Because when it dropped the entire team were cheering loudly. It was really frantic.”
This triumph resulted in Sandfall developing new free content for the game featuring fresh areas, adversaries, plus epic encounters, as announced would be out within the “upcoming month[s]”.
Nevertheless, despite the game's evolution, it's unlikely the studio to grow. We've built a talented crew with a strong creative director possessing strong ideas for our work and also for new ideas. Our goal is to maintain the human scale that worked for this game and do maybe large projects one by one,” the producer noted.
The studio's scale drummed up a storm of discussion following launch. A few well-known creators, such as the famed director, considered Sandfall’s team as the model for a studio. Although the team is and was indeed a small team versus large developers, one glance at the title's staff list shows that dozens of people were involved; Sandfall contracted a Korean team for animation work, as an instance.
“Some hiring will occur a bit more for sure when facing a future production surge down the line,” they commented. “But I would see more of a workshop with a small number of really talented people that can make artistic collaborations.” He noted that Sandfall’s vision as developers “focuses on preserving the successful elements that led to this accomplishment from the start.”
Although it's not the right time to reveal exact details regarding upcoming titles — believe me, efforts were made — they are certain their fundamental principles. “The turn-based aspect, is integral to our identity of this project,” the lead programmer remarked. “It's a bit too early to announce our next interests, however, it's crucial to adhere to the DNA of studio through compelling worlds plus innovative play that inspires the team.”
The developer noted how this game began with the visionary “work[ing] on his dream game. It is hoped that's something will be repeated as well for future productions.”