Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is one of the bigger games players are enjoying right now. This RPG title came out late last month, but what made things a little interesting is what came right before it. Microsoft dropped The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered just days before Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Oddly enough, both games were set to be Xbox Game Pass titles at launch. So, did this hurt Expedition 33 potential chances of seeing a bigger wave of players? According to Kepler Interactive, not at all.
Microsoft seemed to be more than fine, highlighting Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It was first shown off during the Xbox Summer Showcase, along with some other notable franchises from their first-party developers. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is not from one of their first-party studios; it was only an RPG set to launch on Xbox Game Pass.
Recently, The Game Business spoke with Matt Handrahan, Kepler Interactive’s senior portfolio director. For those unaware, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was developed under a new studio called Sandfall Interactive but was published by Kepler Interactive.
In the interview, Matt noted that Microsoft helped showcase this RPG to a worldwide audience in a big way. However, as mentioned, Microsoft’s Bethesda team dropped another very anticipated RPG into the marketplace and on Xbox Game Pass just days before Expedition 33. Despite this move, Matt feels that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered didn’t hurt them.
Also, by the time that we rolled around, we had momentum of our own and we felt pretty confident that we could stand beside it. I think there were other aspects, like the price point we were at and the inclusion in Game Pass… so we knew we would have a lot of interest around the game. We were confident in that. And it went as well as it possibly could have done in our eyes. And, actually, proximity to Oblivion didn’t seem to harm us at all. In many ways, I think it just drew attention to quality RPGs that week and everybody was thinking and talking about the genre. – Matt Handrahan
Instead of potentially moving players away from their game, Matt says the Oblivion release just drew more attention to quality RPGs. With more people thinking of the genre, it led players to their game. Still, it’s clear that Expedition 33 is doing quite well on its own right now, with over a million units shipped in just three days. It’s even led some to wonder if developers will bring out some form of DLC next.
If this game somehow flew under your radar, it’s worth checking out. The game launched for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S platforms. We also have a Before You Buy video coverage of the game, which you can view below.
