Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has sold one million copies, three days after launch. It’s an impressive achievement, particularly given this title is the debut of Sandfall Interactive, and that it was developed by a relatively small team. Despite the many factors working against the game, it’s become an early success story, performing far above its weight.
As for the reasons why Clair Obscur has become a near-instant hit, that’s down to a variety of factors. While there was excitement for the title, as it’s been shown off in a variety of Xbox-supported showcases and beyond, early critical reviews helped to drive hype around the adventure. Expectations were decent, but not stratospheric. Clair Obscur eclipsed these on embargo drop, with many critics calling it one of the most surprising titles of 2025 so far.
In the GamesHub review, we called it stunning, in more ways than one. Reviewer Steph Panecasio said: “The deeper into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 you get, the more you find yourself being encompassed in a whirlwind of difficult emotions. The beauty and balance of the game is that even in the most unexpected moments, there’s the potential for just a single line or discovery to hit you with a sizeable gut punch.”
Read: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 review – Stunning in more ways than one
Other critics have heaped praise on its narrative storytelling, its voice acting performances, its themes, and its combat, noting how well-rounded and impactful the experience is. It’s rare that a game arrives feeling so fully-formed, but its clear Sandfall Interactive knew exactly what it wanted Clair Obscur to be. It’s also rare for critical reviews to be so unanimously positive at launch, with few outliers. It speaks to the universality of Clair Obscur.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a social media darling
Over the last few days, online chatter about this game has also filtered throughout most social media platforms. It’s clear reviews and enthusiastic word of mouth are driving these conversations, with the game not only being good enough for individual players, but good enough for them to share their experiences with friends.
Titles like Clair Obscur largely rely on this chatter to succeed, with a smaller team naturally meaning fewer marketing resources, as compared to larger AAA releases. On the quality of the game, and its originality, it appears Clair Obscur has managed to reach a wide audience on its strength alone – likely a much larger audience than the studio initially anticipated.
With the game already hitting one million copies sold – not including those players jumping in via Xbox Game Pass – we do expect Clair Obscur‘s legend to continue growing. In the coming days and weeks, stay tuned to hear more updates from Sandfall Interactive.
