A massive new RPG hit just dropped last month. Some of us might have assumed that all the credit and glory for the best game from this past month could have gone to something like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. That was a shadow-dropped game with a lot of hype around it. However, just a few days later, fans were truly blown away by Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
We’ve seen this title before and knew it was coming to the marketplace. Despite The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered releasing suddenly just days prior, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 stood out. What’s more impressive is that this was a brand new studio releasing a debut title—one that wasn’t attached to any other franchise, featured a new cast of characters, and had a unique storyline.
The studio behind the game, Sandfall Interactive, is comprised of just 25 people, most of whom came from Ubisoft. One of those individuals and founders of the studio, Guillaume Broche, was Ubisoft’s Brand Development Manager and Narrative Lead. Speaking to content creator Pouce Cafe, which was translated and reported by MP1ST, we’re getting some new insights here.
Broche spoke about why they avoided pitching this idea to Ubisoft and instead started the studio. This essentially breaks down into two main reasons. The first is that getting a chance to pitch an idea like this to the higher-ups is slim to none. Pouring resources and money into new IPs these days is a risky move, so having something like this would have likely been shot down unless it came from a very established developer within the company.
Additionally, Broche noted that developing a game like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 at Ubisoft would have taken decades. So, by creating a new studio and suffering through a few years of hard work, the move paid off massively.
It’s still gaining quite a bit of attention. Despite The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered release coming out just before it, the publisher behind the game felt like this release only helped them. Furthermore, a lot of attention is now on Sandfall Interactive to see what they do next, which could be DLC for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
