Clair Obscur Expedition 33 Director Comments on Sandfall’s Next Game
Guillaume Broche, director of Sandfall Interactive, has said he is untroubled by the prospect that the studio's next game might not match the acclaim of its debut title, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Speaking on the Video Game Club show on Konbini's YouTube channel in July, he said "Maybe people won't like it. That's life," explaining that the team's focus has always been on making games that excite themselves rather than chasing audience approval. This matters because Clair Obscur was one of 2025's biggest critical successes, winning numerous game of the year awards, and Broche's comments suggest the studio intends to resist pressure to scale up or replicate that formula.
Broche acknowledged there is now pressure to expand the studio or make something bigger following Clair Obscur's success, but warned this would risk producing games he himself would not want to play. He declined to give specifics on the next project but hinted at "drastic decisions" ahead, and reiterated that "Clair Obscur" is intended as a franchise name rather than tied solely to Expedition 33, raising the possibility of an anthology approach akin to Final Fantasy rather than a direct sequel. A true sequel would also require Sandfall to settle on a canon ending, something it has so far deliberately avoided.
- Sandfall's director says he's fine if the next game flops
- Studio prioritises developer satisfaction over chasing GOTY success again
- "Clair Obscur" may become an anthology franchise, not a direct sequel
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Sandfall Interactive is the small French studio behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, a role-playing game that became one of the standout successes of 2025, picking up multiple game of the year awards. Its director, Guillaume Broche, has been speaking publicly about what comes next for the studio, and his comments have drawn attention because of how a single hit game often reshapes expectations for whatever a studio makes afterwards.
Broche's remarks matter because studios that produce a breakout success frequently face pressure to grow bigger, hire more staff, or repeat the same formula to satisfy fans and investors. He has suggested Sandfall wants to avoid that trap, preferring to keep making games the team itself finds exciting rather than chasing guaranteed approval, even if that means a less warmly received follow-up.
There is also a question of what "Clair Obscur" means as a name going forward, since Broche has indicated it could become a broader series title rather than being locked to a direct sequel of Expedition 33. This links to a practical issue: Expedition 33 was designed with multiple possible endings and no fixed canon, so continuing that specific story would require Sandfall to first decide which ending, if any, actually happened.