Borne From Creator’s Boredom At Ubisoft, ‘Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’ Hits 2 Million Sales And Doubles ‘Assassin’s Creed Shadows’ Steam Player Peak
In a well-deserved victory lap for the indie title, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has not only turned out to be a massive hit with players, but in just 12-days has also outperformed the latest release from its creator’s former employer, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
Developed by the fledgling Sandfall Interactive, whose current team of 33 employees (and one dog) a with smaller budget, could be game of the year and stand the test of time as a must-play for generations. was assembled by founder Guillaume Broche via social media posts, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 found itself rapidly rising in popularity from the moment it released on April 24th.
In its first 24 hours on sale, the game sold 500,000 copies, with its official X account announcing, “A milestone for us, reached sooner than we’d ever imagined. Thank you all.”
It wasn’t long after that the game shattered another milestone, as just “three days after launch”, Sandfall Interactive confirmed that the game had officially sold “one million copies”, including those “units shipped to retailers.”
From there, the good news kept rolling.
“Twelve days in, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has crossed two million copies sold,” revealed Sandfall Interactive on May 6th. “We’ve watched in awe as so many of you began your journey. Feeling every step, every emotion, every revelation alongside you. To those just joining us: welcome. Tomorrow comes.”
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn’t just selling well, but it’s also receiving high praise across the board, having received not only a wave of 9-or-higher reviews from numerous critics, but also likewise ratings from players, as indicated by its current 9.7 Metacritic user score.
Further, per Dexerto’s Carver Fisher, Sandfall Interactive’s debut title is currently sitting as the aggregator’s best-rated game of 2025 and its 159th of all time (though it should be noted that not only has it fallen to 165th at the time of writing, but its 92 Metascore is actually tied with roughly 60 other titles).
For comparison, this places the debut Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 among the ranks of other such RPGs as Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Undertale, and Chrono Trigger, as well as other genre titles like Batman: Arkham Asylum, Team Fortress 2, and Super Smash Bros. Melee – a class so prestigious that it’s no wonder Sandfall Interactive was stunned by the news.
Unsurprisingly, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33‘s breakout success sparked plenty of discourse among players, with one regular topic of discussion being whether or not said success could kick-off a mass player exodus away from the AAA scene’s stranglehold on the industry towards more indie titles crafted with passion.
In particular, this debate was fueled by the fact that the aforementioned Broche, as well as several of his team members, are fellow Ubisoft employees, with the Sandfall Interactive founder notably having been inspired to strike out on his own after finding himself “bored in their job [at Ubisoft] and wanting to do something different”.
As such, many have taken to comparing the success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 against Ubisoft’s latest major release, Assassin’s Creed Shadows.
While there exist a number of factors that make a direct comparison relatively impossible, such as how they both feature completely different gameplay styles and the fact that the Ubisoft title faced months of self-inflicted bad press while Sandfall Interactive’s received barely any coverage until release, the numbers do suggest that players are at the very least hungry for something new.
At this time of writing, Assassin’s Creed Shadows‘ all-time peak Steam player count currently rests at 64,825, which it hit roughly three days after launch.
Not only did Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 reach 71,000 in just 24 hours, but in the same ‘three days post-launch’ window of time, it achieved a peak of 121,422 – three days after launch – even amid the sudden and gangbusters launch of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered.
(For reference, the game’s all-time peak has since risen to over 145,000 players.)
From the game’s collector’s edition selling out over a month before launch, to a live-action film being announced even before its release, to this breakout success, it’s clear that Sandfall Interactive has many a reason to celebrate.
As best put the devs alongside a picture of Sciel riding on Esquire: “Woohooooo“
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