Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a once-in-a-generation game, and some would argue a once-in-a-generation success. The brilliant turn-based RPG has reeled in millions of fans for the fledgling studio, but how many will be there for the studio’s next game?
Right now, there’s no information on what Sandfall’s next game will be, although it may not be another turn-based RPG. No matter what the game is, Expedition 33 director Guillaume Broche doesn’t “care” if it’s a flop.
Speaking to Konbini, Broche explained that the unexpected success of Sandfall’s debut has left him “in a state of dissociation ever since the game launched”. Broche doubled down on his prior ideals of not expanding the size of Sandfall’s dev team, saying: “we’re such a tight-knit and cool team—the vibe is really just a bunch of friends making a game. That helps us stay really grounded and focus on what’s importance to us.”
As they work on their next game, which is currently in very early development, Broche explained that they’re “just going to do what we love again” with the same team in the same office. “Doing that again in our little den in Montpellier, that’s what we love,” he continued. “And that’s what people love, too, so why change?”
Broche explained that, if they were to size up and make bigger games, it wouldn’t fit what Sandfall likes to make. “Then we end up with games that, personally, I don’t play because I don’t like them,” he said. “So, we’re going to stick to making games that we love. If people like them? Great.”
When asked how he’ll feel if Sandfall’s next game isn’t very popular, Broche told the channel that it doesn’t matter. “I don’t really care,” he said. “It’s weird to say, but we didn’t make the first game to please anyone. And I think that’s why it worked. So, for the next game, we’ll make some drastic decisions, too, and maybe people won’t like it. That’s life. Whether people follow us or not is their decision.”
Broche explained that thinking this way is “the healthy way to approach it”, adding that otherwise they’d be “crushed under the pressure”/ Of course, they still want to sell copies, but if their next game fails to hit the highs of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, they would move on and try again.
As for the future of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Sandfall is seemingly done with the turn-based RPG. However, recent leaks have claimed that a new port of the game for Nintendo Switch 2 is on the way, bringing the RPG to handheld gamers later this year.
