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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 reportedly had a final budget of less than $10 million, according to coverage attributing the figure to a 2025 New York Times profile of developer Sandfall Interactive. That is a reported threshold, not an independently audited total: the accessible coverage does not define which costs the figure includes.
What is known about the budget
GamesRadar+ reported the “less than $10 million” figure based on the New York Times profile, and Insider Gaming reported the same threshold. The original Times page was not accessible for direct verification, so the figure should be understood as a developer-reported amount relayed by secondary coverage—not a precise accounting of the game’s full cost. GamesRadar+; Insider Gaming
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
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Clair Obscur Expedition 33 PS5 | $45.00 | Buy on Amazon |
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (PS5) | $41.74 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - For PS5 | $45.68 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - For PlayStation 5 | $67.00 | Buy on Amazon |
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Metaphor: ReFantazio Launch Edition - PlayStation 5 | $38.89 | Buy on Amazon |
No exact amount or cost breakdown is established in the accessible reporting. It does not clarify whether the figure includes external partners, localization, orchestral recording, marketing, or other publisher spending. There is therefore no supported basis for turning the threshold into a per-person cost or a total-project estimate.
Why the team-size figure is not the whole workforce
Sandfall CTO Tom Guillermin described the studio’s core team as fewer than 30 people: about 25 in Montpellier and five in Paris. That count describes the core team, not every person or company that contributed to the finished game. Unreal Engine interview with Tom Guillermin
#1 Best Overall
- Reactive Turn-based Combat: Craft unique builds for your Expeditioners that fit your playstyle via gear, stats, skills, and &character synergies
- Dodge, parry, and counter in real time, chain combos by mastering attack rhythms, and target enemy weak points using a free aim system
- With only one year left to live, join Gustave, Maelle, & fellow Expeditioners as they embark on a desperate quest to break Paintress’ cycle of death
- Explore an enchanting realm populated by adversaries; Wander through breathtaking landscapes, from Island of Visages to the Forgotten Battlefield
- Experience the debut game from Sandfall Interactive, fully realized in Unreal Engine 5 with stunning graphics and a heartbreaking soundtrack
Creative director Guillaume Broche has discussed using outside partners for work including localization and orchestral recording. He said those partnerships helped the studio deliver more languages and a larger-scale soundtrack than it could have produced in-house. The available sources do not say whether those partner costs were included in the reported budget. Unreal Engine interview with Guillaume Broche
How Sandfall developed the game
Guillermin said the earliest versions of the project were made by Sandfall CEO Guillaume Broche alone, with occasional help. The team later grew to 12 while working toward a vertical slice. In 2022, Sandfall went to the Game Developers Conference to find a publisher, met Kepler Interactive, and received support to continue development and build an Alpha. Unreal Engine interview with Tom Guillermin
Rank #2
- Reactive Turn-based Combat - In this evolution of JRPGs, real-time actions enhance the heart of turn-based combat. Build your party and level up six characters. Craft unique builds for your expeditioners that fit your playstyle via gear, stats, skills, and character synergies. Open an active dimension in combat - dodge, parry, and counter in real time, chain combos by mastering attack rhythms, and target enemy weak points using a free-aim system.
- “Tomorrow Comes” - With only one year left to live, join Gustave, Maelle, and their fellow Expeditioners as they embark upon a desperate quest to break the Paintress’ cycle of death. Follow the trail of previous expeditions and discover their fate. Get to know the members of Expedition 33 as they learn to work together against impossible odds.
- A Hauntingly Beautiful World - Explore an enchanting realm populated by surreal adversaries. Wander through breathtaking landscapes, from the Island of Visages to the Forgotten Battlefield, discovering secrets and hidden quests along the way. Find allies of fortune in creatures of legend and recruit a special companion who can access new travel methods and secret areas in the World Map.
- Experience the debut game from Sandfall Interactive, fully realized in Unreal Engine 5 with stunning graphics and a heartbreaking soundtrack.
- European/ UK version
Sandfall’s account of its tools helps explain how a small core team could work across a large RPG. Guillermin said Unreal Engine features supported the team’s workflow and that Blueprint visual scripting let people who were not programmers contribute to game logic. With limited programming capacity, the studio focused coding resources on features it believed mattered most to player experience.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.“Our development philosophy at Sandfall is based on the reality that we have limited programming bandwidth, so we focus on what’s most important to delivering a good player experience and helping the creative team achieve their aims.”
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - For PS5
- Engaging Storyline: Dive into a rich, narrative-driven adventure with unexpected twists.
- Complex Puzzles: Test your problem-solving skills with challenging puzzles.
- Immersive World: Explore a visually stunning alien planet with breathtaking details and treacherous terrain.
What the reported figure does—and does not—tell you
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is Sandfall’s first game: a single-player, narrative-driven, turn-based RPG published by Kepler Interactive. The under-$10-million report is notable alongside the studio’s small core team, but it is not enough to rank the game’s spending against other releases. A meaningful comparison would need budgets defined on the same basis—development versus total project costs, core staff versus all contributors, and comparable scope and development periods. The accessible sources do not provide that information for this game or comparable titles. Sandfall Interactive
Quick Recap
Best Value
- IGN and GameSpot "Game of the Year" and "Best RPG" from The Game Awards
- ATLUS' newest fantasy JRPG with beautiful anime cutscenes
- Free demo with save-data carry over
- Awaken 40+ "Archetypes," magical powers that lie dormant in your heart
- Innovative battle system that blends strategic turn-based combat and dynamic real-time combat
Rank #4
- Engaging Storyline: Dive into a rich, narrative-driven adventure with unexpected twists.
- Complex Puzzles: Test your problem-solving skills with challenging puzzles.
- Immersive World: Explore a visually stunning alien planet with breathtaking details and treacherous terrain.
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