Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developer feels it needs to "trust its instincts" for its next game, instead of being guided by fan pressure

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developer Sandfall will focus on what those at the studio personally think is "cool" for its next game, rather than feel any pressure to focus on what anyone else thinks it should do.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was met with widespread acclaim on its release last year, and rounded out 2025 by scooping up the coveted Game of the Year accolade at The Game Awards. This success has meant many eyes are now on Sandfall and what the studio will do next, with plenty of high expectations.

So, has this pressure changed how those at the studio will approach the developer's next game? Well, according to Sandfall's chief operating officer and production director François Meurisse, this new-found pressure is "not so important to us".

In an interview with Edge magazine, Meurisse said Sandfall already has "some great ideas" which it is "excited to explore". He also noted the studio isn't starting "from the same point" that it was when it began work on Clair Obscur. "The team already has five more years of experience. So maybe we can do some great stuff," he said (thanks, GamesRadar).

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's lead writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen added she is "a bit of a people pleaser", and therefore it is "always in the back of [her] mind that we have a lot of fans now, and they have certain expectations and certain feelings towards the game". She admitted she would be kidding herself and us if she said she "didn't think about that" from time to time. However even though this may be the case, she said the team's creative "North Star" will always be its "own personal taste" in terms of what it thinks "is cool", and what the team itself enjoys.

"I've seen too many TV shows and books be swayed trying to please a lot of people, and in the process you end up losing the heart of what's there," Clair Obscur's lead writer said.

"So [we] feel like we need to trust our instincts and continue to trust the vision behind the studio."

Image credit: Sandfall Interactive

Towards the end of last year, the success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was publicly acknowledged once again by French President Emmanuel Macron, who said its Game of the Year win was a source of "great pride for Montpellier and for France".

During the awards show last month, developer Sandfall Interactive announced Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's previously teased expansion was available for all players. While of course a welcome addition for the many fans out there, this expansion and its bosses have proven tricky for some.

For more, I recently spoke with actor Maxence Cazorla - who performed the physical side of things for Clair Obscur's Gustave, Renoir and Verso, and voiced Esquie - about his work on Expedition 33, and what the game has meant to him personally.