'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33' cost a complete fortune, but it's wildly successful

The RPG from Sandfall Interactive, titled Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, has been recognized as the great revelation of the year at the recent The Game Awards 2025. This milestone is particularly noteworthy given that the work was developed with a budget of less than 10 million dollars, a figure that starkly contrasts with the exorbitant budgets typically handled by AAA titles in the industry, such as those from PlayStation, Rockstar, or Xbox.

Good, Beautiful, and Cheap

The CEO and creative director of Sandfall, Guillaume Broche, highlighted in an interview with The New York Times that the core team of the studio consists of only 30 people. Despite the small staff, the studio has managed to subcontract animations and other processes to smaller teams, such as one in Korea, to meet the demands of an increasingly competitive market. This approach has allowed Sandfall Interactive to demonstrate that it is possible to develop a high-quality game without resorting to the traditional high costs of the industry.

The story behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is also a testament to perseverance. The team faced multiple rejections while seeking funding, even from venture capitalists, who showed greater interest in projects related to the metaverse. In the absence of support, the studio turned to friends and family to finance its vision. “We were rejected by venture capitalists. They were interested in the metaverse and in applications that could scale quickly”, explained Françoise Meurisse, chief operating officer.

The vision of the project, according to Broche, has always been clear: to prioritize quality over quantity, refining more economical design formulas. “We are trying to find this place of truth and honesty again”, he concluded. This approach has been key to the success of the game and to sending a disruptive message to the major studios in the industry.