Summary
Clair Obsur: Expedition 33has taken the video games community by storm, thanks to its cinematic visuals, music, and performances. Releasing on the heels of Bethesda’s shadow-droppedOblivion Remastered,Clair Obscur: Expedition 33publisher Kepler Interactive recently addressed the remaster’s success and confirmed its surprising release did not harmExpedition 33’s launch.
Expedition 33is a turn-based RPG from indie studio Sandfall Interactive, sporting a dark fantasy Belle Époque setting that surrounds a group of Expedition 33 volunteers who are tasked with destroying a being known as the Paintress. One week after its initial release,Clair Obscur: Expedition 33received its first post-launch update, where the 1.2.2 patch fixed a wide array of problems, including inventory issues and soft locking bugs.
Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remasteredshadow-droppeda little over a week ago, but fans weren’t too surprised to hear the news after months of leaks and rumors suggesting the remaster was being worked on. Still, any stealth release with a game of this caliber is understandably a cause for concern when other publishers have games on the imminent release schedule, includingExpedition 33, which released a few days afterOblivion. Luckily,Expedition 33’s publisher Kepler confirmed in aninterview with The Game BusinessthatOblivion’s surprising launch “didn’t seem to harm us at all.” Kepler continued, explainingOblivionandExpedition 33’s release drew more attention to the RPG genre, saying, “I think it just drew attention to quality RPGs that week and everybody was thinking and talking about the genre.”
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Publisher Comments Oblivion Remastered Did No Harm
To add credence to Kepler’s statement,Clair Obscur: Expedition 33has overtakenOblivion Remasteredin key areas, including surpassing Bethesda’s title in global sales, and recently flaunting a higher concurrent player count on Steam. In the same interview, Kepler’s senior portfolio director, Matt Handrahan, touched onExpedition 33’s “specific identity,” noting the game’s Western-style RPG and Japanese-style RPG would appeal to different audiences. “I knew plenty of people that would play anElder Scrollsgame that wouldn’t necessarily playFinal Fantasyand vice versa,” Handrahan explained, and added the team felt confident that the title would draw many eyes, especially with a day-one drop on Xbox Game Pass.
Looking ahead to the indie’s roadmap, aClair Obscur: Expedition 33writer recently hinted that a DLC may be consideredin the RPG’s future. While Sandfall continues to process the game’s critical and commercial success, the team may consider exploring the other expeditions mentioned in the narrative for DLC content, and the developer also said it would love to expand the game’s content if there was a strong desire from players.
