It feels like we've been reporting non-stop on new successes for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 since April 2025, celebrating sales figures, raving reviews, and a record-breaking number of Game of the Year awards. What has surprised many is that, despite its stunning graphics and deep gameplay, it was developed by a relatively small team on a fairly low budget.
But that's apparently the wrong way to look at it, according to Sandfall Interactive founder and creative director Guillaume Broche. On the contrary, he believes that having fewer people is a strength. In an interview with Edge Magazine (via GamingBolt), he explains:
"No, I think it's good to have limitations when you are creative. It's the best way to be the best version of yourself. We could scale up now we have a lot more money, but I would say it's not tempting for us, because even the management team and myself, we'd have to be hands-on and doing things for ourselves.
"We love making games more than we love managing, so we want to keep doing that. These past five years were some of the best of my life, and I want to be happy like that again."
The smaller team also brings other advantages, according to lead programmer Tom Guillermin. It makes everyone more cohesive, which facilitates collaboration:
"In terms of team dynamics, everybody knows everybody in the team, and people are used to working together. Now we are lucky enough to have a strong foundation from the previous project, but expanding for the sake of expanding is not our vision."
In short, it sounds like we shouldn't expect Sandfall Interactive to grow in the future either. They have found a way to develop that suits them, and if the result is titles like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, we are inclined to agree that they are on the right track as a studio.