Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Team Emphasizes Commitment to Quality Over Quantity in Game Development

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s developer, Sandfall Interactive, has no plans for significant expansion following the impressive success of their debut title.

In a recent conversation, Expedition 33’s creative director, Guillaume Broche, and lead programmer, Tom Guillermin, were asked if their next project would be larger than Expedition 33. Their response was clear.

“No, I think it’s good to have limitations when you are creative,” Broche stated. “It’s the best way to be the best version of yourself. We could scale up now that we have more resources, but it’s not tempting for us. The management team and I prefer to be hands-on and involved in the creative process. We love making games more than managing, and I want to continue enjoying that. The past five years have been some of the best of my life, and I want to keep that happiness.”

Sandfall has demonstrated that it’s possible to create a high-quality game that exceeds expectations, especially considering the studio’s size and experience level. Recently, veteran developer Adrian Chmielarz expressed his surprise at the “phenomenal” quality of Expedition 33, noting it was crafted by a team of mostly newcomers.

This success is another reason Sandfall feels no urgency to grow their team; their current setup is functioning well.

“In terms of team dynamics, everyone knows each other, and they’re accustomed to collaborating,” Guillermin explained. “We’re fortunate to have a solid foundation from our previous project, but expanding just for the sake of it isn’t our goal.

“Our focus is on delivering quality games, and we don’t believe a large team is necessary to achieve that. While big teams can produce great titles, our current size works best for us. We want to maintain our team structure and dynamic.”

Maelle’s most notorious attack in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was initially “very bad” during development, but Sandfall made it incredibly powerful by attempting to fix it without proper testing.