Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s developers are stunned by the RPG’s runaway success, which has sold millions and now leads The Game Awards with a record 12 nominations.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developer Sandfall Interactive didn’t exect the game to be as hugely successful as it is.
Creative director Guillaume Broche told Radio Times Gaming that while the studio always felt their RPG was “going to be cool,” nobody anticipated its explosion into a full-blown cultural moment.
He said: “Before launch, it was not supposed to be big. It’s a weird feeling, when you put your heart out into the world and the world embraces it.
“We get so much love from the players. It’s very hard to explain.”
Actor Ben Starr, who plays Verso in the RPG, echoed that disbelief, calling the game’s meteoric rise “a silly joke” the cast keeps privately messaging each other about.
He added: “It turned into this kind of cultural moment … but that’s just because the game is very honest.
“No one expected those numbers.”
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launched on April 24 across PC, Xbox and PlayStation – and crucially, day one on Xbox Game Pass, giving it instant reach and fueling its rapid word-of-mouth ascent.
In five months, it became one of 2025’s biggest commercial success stories and the most-nominated title in Game Awards history, earning nods for Best Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best RPG, Best Independent Game, Best Debut, and of course, Game of the Year.
Three actors – those being Starr, Charlie Cox and Jennifer English – are also up for Best Performance at the ceremony.
For a game its creators insist was “small,” Expedition 33 now sits at the center of the industry’s end-of-year celebration, an unexpected triumph the team admits they’re still struggling to wrap their heads around.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 devs shocked at RPG’s colossal success as it leads Game Awards noms
