Expedition 33 Team Celebrates Major Achievement Beyond Game of the Year

The developers at Sandfall Interactive have spent the past year serving as cultural ambassadors for France in the gaming realm, so it’s only fitting that they receive some recognition for their efforts. Recently, the team behind the acclaimed RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 announced that they were honored by France’s Ministry of Culture. And yes, someone did don a classic red beret and striped shirt for the occasion.

Sandfall shared the news on LinkedIn, posting a photo of the team proudly wearing medallions that signify their membership in the Ordre de Saint-Michel (Order of Saint Michael). This prestigious order has three ranks: Commander, Officer, and Knight. Sandfall Interactive was awarded the title of Knights, which comes with an eight-pointed silver medallion. To qualify for this honor, recipients must have “significantly contributed to the enrichment of the French cultural inheritance” and be at least 30 years old.

Each year, France knights around 200 individuals, meaning that Sandfall Interactive—a team of about 30—claimed roughly 15 percent of the available medallions.

Here’s what Sandfall had to say:

From Expeditioners to Knights! We were received yesterday at the Ministry of Culture to celebrate our game, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. As such, the members of Sandfall Interactive were awarded the Order of Arts and Letters. This distinction honors us, and our deepest thanks go especially to our team who shaped this world and to the millions of players who have brought it to life. We hope that our journey will inspire all those who wish to take the plunge and create their own work.

While Officers and Commanders hold higher ranks within the Order—only 60 people are named Officers each year and just 20 become Commanders—Knights can advance in rank after five years if they continue to make meaningful contributions to French culture. With Sandfall already working on a new game set in the Clair Obscur universe, there’s a possibility they could snag every available Commander medallion by 2031. After all, winning every Game of the Year award isn’t quite enough.

Honestly, getting knighted is a much cooler achievement than getting Gommaged once you hit 30.