The Success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 — An Important Lesson for the Entire Industry That It Is Not Ready to Learn
We haven't seen such a powerful debut from a budding studio that also exposes the accumulated problems of the industry in a long time. Today we will delve into the launch of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, discuss the team and funding behind Sandfall Interactive, and talk about the factors contributing to the game's success.
Contents:
- The Sandfall Interactive Team: 32 People, One Dog, and Drama Out of Thin Air
- Funding Expedition 33: Investors, Grants, and Publisher Support
- Sales, Revenue, Platform Distribution, and Other Metrics of Expedition 33
- Success Factors of Expedition 33: Is This Case Applicable to the Rest of the Industry?
The Sandfall Interactive Team: 32 People, One Dog, and Drama Out of Thin Air
The main figure and ideologist of Sandfall Interactive is Guillaume Broche. He began his career in the industry a bit over 10 years ago as an assistant creative director for Might & Magic: Heroes VII. From 2017 to 2019, as part of Ubisoft's program for university graduates, he worked as an assistant producer on Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and The Division 2, and then spent a year as the brand manager and narrative lead for the Might & Magic series.
While still at Ubisoft, Broche began nurturing the idea of his own project. In an interview with the BBC, he admitted that at the start of the pandemic he "got bored at work" and wanted to do something different. In 2020, he made the decision to leave the French publisher to establish his own studio.
At Sandfall, Broche holds the positions of CEO and creative director. In addition to him, the company later gained two more co-founders:
- Technical Director and Lead Programmer Tom Guillermin — spent four years at Ubisoft as a gameplay programmer for Ghost Recon: Wildlands (only DLC), Breakpoint, The Division 2, and Beyond Good and Evil 2;
- Operations Director and Production Director François Meurisse — had no experience in the gaming industry but worked for several years at Marcel, a French private transportation service.
From left to right: Guillaume Broche, Tom Guillermin, François Meurisse (photo: Sandfall Interactive)
Until April 2021, Sandfall's staff consisted of only six people. By spring 2022, the team expanded to 15 employees, and by February 2024 — to 25.
According to the official website, the studio currently employs 32 people and one dog named Monoko (a character in Clair Obscur is named after her).
Many developers at Sandfall Interactive are newcomers to the industry. Broche personally found some key team members on Reddit, forums, and other platforms. This approach brought in several individuals who ultimately made invaluable contributions to the success of Expedition 33.
Among them:
