Sandfall Interactive’s bold RPG outperforms bloated blockbusters and proves smaller studios can still win big in 2025.
In a gaming landscape riddled with AAA flops and overhyped underperformers, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is rewriting the playbook. Developed by the French indie studio Sandfall Interactive, this striking JRPG-inspired RPG has already sold 1.5 million copies across platforms as of May 3, 2025. Even more impressive? It peaked at 129,461 concurrent players on Steam during its second weekend, a rare feat in modern PC gaming.
Released at $49.99 and built on a modest budget of $20 to $30 million (based on industry estimates), the game’s success stands in sharp contrast to recent AAA trainwrecks with rumored budgets exceeding $600 million. While the big boys bled money, this smaller title captured critical acclaim, player loyalty, and marketplace momentum—all without microtransactions, live-service traps, or shareholder pandering.
A Surreal Masterpiece with Substance
Set in a brooding 19th-century-inspired fantasy world, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 casts players as “expeditioners” on a haunting journey to stop the Paintress, an enigmatic force who awakens yearly to paint a number—like “33”—causing everyone of that age to disintegrate.
The game blends turn-based combat with real-time mechanics, earning comparisons to titles like Persona and Baldur’s Gate 3. Built in Unreal Engine 5, its painterly visuals utilize Lumen and Nanite to deliver a dreamlike atmosphere that feels both eerie and intimate. IGN awarded it a 9/10, calling it “captivating” with “inventive mechanics,” while over 50,000 Steam reviews average a 92% positive rating as of May 4.
AAA Misses While Indies Rise
Compare that to the big spenders:
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Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League (2024) reportedly cost $200 million, launched to dismal reviews, and barely crossed 1 million sales in six months. Fans and critics alike rejected its live-service model and uninspired gameplay.
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Ubisoft’s Skull & Bones (2024) was in production for over a decade with a budget reportedly topping $650 million, only to debut with tepid reviews and flat sales, according to Acer Corner.
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Concord (2024), a PlayStation-backed hero shooter with a $100 million budget (per industry speculation), shut down just two weeks post-launch with fewer than 25,000 players, per GamesIndustry.biz.
Even Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, rumored in industry circles to cost over $600 million, hasn’t generated the same player retention buzz as Expedition 33, which actually increased its Steam peak in its second weekend—a unicorn event in this industry.
Built with Heart, Not Hype
The team at Sandfall consists of just 50 core developers, with an extended team of around 200 contributors. Their development philosophy, as shared in a 2025 Unreal Engine dev interview, emphasized player-first design, no microtransactions, and a focus on accessibility and storytelling.
Even X (formerly Twitter) is paying attention. Users like @Aurondarklord highlighted the game’s second-week surge as evidence of its staying power. Posts from fans like @ElvenMaidInn described the game’s polish, artistic direction, and “anti-corporate” vibe—a sentiment echoed by many players online.
What Now?
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is more than a surprise hit—it’s a statement. It shows that great games don’t need corporate committees or blockbuster budgets. They need vision, discipline, and heart. With the AAA model cracking under its own weight, smaller teams like Sandfall may very well be the ones to watch as gaming enters its next evolution.
News compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs and Edgar B. for D/REZZED News from Clownfish TV.
Sources:
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Review, IGN, April 28, 2025
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Hit RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Tops 1 Million Sales in Just 3 Days, IGN, April 28, 2025
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X post by @Aurondarklord, May 3, 2025
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Steam store page for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, accessed May 4, 2025
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Inside the Development Journey of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Unreal Engine, 2025
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Major AAA Gaming Flops of 2024, Acer Corner, October 19, 2024
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Concord Shuts Down After Two Weeks, GamesIndustry.biz, September 10, 2024
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Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Underperforms, Warner Bros. Financial Report, August 2024
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2025’s Gaming Trends: Indies and AA Titles Outshine AAA, GamesIndustry.biz, April 15, 2025
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