Sandfall Interactive has revealed how much it cost to develop and release Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. In a new profile piece for the New York Times, the developer of one of 2025’s biggest hits talked about the game’s development, the approach to creating the game, and more.
As part of that talk, Sandfall claims that Clair Obscur was built for less than $10 million.
In order to achieve that goal, the studio chose to not have the game be a true open-world title. They say that they decided to use other classic role-playing game (RPG) design choices such as having battles take place in specific “arenas” rather than out in the overworld and having the map be a “miniature version of the explorable realm”.
Since its launch in April, Clair Obscur has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. It’s also been up for numerous awards, including Game of the Year from shows like the Golden Joystick Awards—which it won—and The Game Awards.
What do you think of the budget for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 being less than $10 million? Leave your thoughts down below and join the discussion in the official Insider Gaming Discord server.
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Mike has been covering the gaming industry since 2012, and has reported on some of the largest events in the industry while also working as an investigative reporter. Outside of…
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