Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – A Triumph for AA Games and Kepler Interactive
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has emerged as a phenomenal success story, selling millions of copies and sparking a conversation about the state of the gaming industry. Developed by Sandfall Interactive and published by Kepler Interactive, this turn-based RPG is not only captivating players but also challenging the dominance of AAA titles.
The game's success, boasting over 3.3 million copies sold, is a testament to Kepler Interactive's strategy of focusing on original titles with striking art styles and innovative gameplay, as noted by Shuhei Yoshida, former president of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios, who now consults for Kepler. "They have a great balance in looking for innovation in games and investing in commercially viable projects," he says. "I think the way Kepler chooses games and supports developers is a great example of sustainable indie publishing."
Kepler Interactive's structure is unique; co-owned by a group of autonomous studios fostered to promote creativity. According to Matthew Handrahan, portfolio director at Kepler, the idea is that Kepler provides a solid base for each studio in terms of HR, legal teams, and IT. "And each one of them can draw on that to the degree that they want to, in the belief that if you give people that solid base, they can just focus more on being creative," Handrahan says.
Sandfall Interactive, the developer behind Clair Obscur, deliberately avoided chasing trends. COO and producer François Meurisse stated that studio head Guillaume Broche's passion for revitalizing turn-based JRPGs was what attracted him to the project. "We smashed our forecasts pretty fast," Meurisse added, highlighting the game's unexpected success. Plans for a follow-up are already underway.
The triumph of Clair Obscur has led many to believe that AA games will mount a comeback, a sector that has diminished over the past few console generations. It proves that small teams of less than 50 people can create great games. "In terms of main credits over the four years of production, we were on average about 30 people,” clarifies Meurisse.
Handrahan believes that smaller-scale games offer something that many AAA titles have lost. "These kinds of games did exist in much greater numbers about 15 years ago, and I think there are some threads that the AAA industry lost as they grew and grew and grew, and brought in different ways of monetising," he said. He sees an opportunity for studios like Sandfall to fill the void, offering players unique experiences.
One of the remarkable aspects of Clair Obscur is how it respects the player's time. Matthew Handrahan emphasizes that “It gives them plenty of satisfaction, but it isn't arbitrarily 500 hours of gameplay. It's impactful because it's scoped correctly.” He suggests brevity should be more of a virtue in gaming, preferring quality over quantity.
Clair Obscur's artistic direction and battle mechanics contribute to its overall appeal. Rebecca Spear from Windows Central praises the game's ability to evoke a sense of melancholy and longing. It has a unique way of imbuing a sense of hope as well as nostalgic for things that will never return. The visuals use Contrasting images throughout, its artistic style in general heavily makes use of light and dark techniques to give emphasis, emotion, and depth.
The turn-based combat system is real-time and keeps players on their toes and engaged. She also added it makes each action feel emotional and personal.
With Clair Obscur's success, Kepler intends to build a brand associating it with high-quality, mid-sized games with unique innovation. Their litmus test has been this belief that these games will excite others by their vision in all creativity.
Has Clair Obscur paved the way for a new era of AA gaming? What are your thoughts on the game's impact on the industry? Leave your comments below and share your perspectives!
