Sandfall Interactive: It "would have taken 25 years" to create Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with a major publisher

Surely no one has missed the fact that the French role-playing game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has become a huge success that in many ways (including production values) completely outshines what many giants achieve - despite being developed by a relatively small studio.

Although... if we are to believe Sandfall Interactive boss Guillame Broche, it is almost a misnomer to write "despite" the lack of a cash-rich publisher, arguing that it has rather been an advantage. In an interview with French influencer Pouce Café, he says (transcribed by Mp1st):

"Yeah, very clearly. Projects like these-with new IPs, original stories, completely original characters-are super hard to push through in a big company. There are a lot of approval steps, and in general, in big structures, you already have to have proven yourself and be pretty high up in the hierarchy just to have a chance at pitching this kind of project."

If he had taken a more traditional approach, he says, we would have had to wait much longer:

"This is the kind of project that, if doable, would have taken me 25 years before being realized, and I don't have enough patience for that."

What do you think about it, is it always better to lean on a rich publisher or are there advantages to small scale and to pilot a project wherever you want without publisher involvement?