It is rare to see a new IP come out of nowhere and just... dominate. But that is exactly what happened with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Honestly, if you told me a year ago that a debut title from a small French studio would be outperforming established AAA sequels, I would have probably laughed. Yet, here we are in 2026, and the numbers are frankly staggering.
The game didn't just sell well; it fundamentally shifted how we look at turn-based RPGs. By the time the clock struck midnight on its 33rd day of release, it had already moved 3.3 million units. That isn't just a marketing gimmick—though Sandfall Interactive was clever enough to wait for that specific day to announce it—it's a testament to a game that actually respects its audience.
The Milestone That Changed Everything
Most games fizzle out after the first month. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sales did the opposite. After that initial 3.3 million burst, the momentum just kept building. By October 2025, the game hit 5 million copies sold.
Think about that for a second.
Five million units for a brand-new universe. No existing fan base. No "Part II" in the title. Just raw quality and a Belle Époque aesthetic that looked like nothing else on the shelf.
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Then came the award season. Usually, awards are just trophies for the shelf, but for Sandfall, they were a massive commercial engine. After taking home Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2025, the sales numbers took another vertical leap. Market analysts at Alinea Analytics reported an extra 200,000+ copies sold in the four days immediately following the ceremony.
Where the copies are going
While it launched day one on Game Pass, which usually "cannibalizes" sales according to the old-school suits, the breakdown of actual purchases is fascinating:
- Steam (PC): Roughly 76% of recent sales.
- PlayStation 5: Around 21%.
- Xbox Series X/S: A small 3% (mostly because everyone there is playing it via Game Pass).
Actually, the Game Pass impact shouldn't be ignored. Even with millions of "free" players, people were still lining up to buy it. Why? Probably because Sandfall kept the price at a very reasonable $49.99. In an era where $70 is the "new normal" for games that aren't even finished at launch, $50 for a polished, 60-hour epic feels like a steal.
Why the Sales Numbers Keep Climbing
There is a specific kind of "word of mouth" that money can't buy. You've seen it on Reddit and across social media—people aren't just saying they liked the game; they're saying it's the best RPG they've played since the PS2 era.
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It’s the "reactive" turn-based combat. It’s the soundtrack by Lorien Testard that somehow topped the Billboard classical charts. People were streaming the music before they even bought the game. In fact, the soundtrack hit 90 million streams by mid-2025. That kind of cross-media reach is a salesperson's dream.
The "Thank You" Effect
In late 2025, Sandfall released a massive "Thank You" update. Free content. New dungeons. New costumes. They didn't charge $20 for a "Director's Cut." They just gave it away. This move likely pushed those fence-sitters over the edge. When a developer treats their community like people rather than "monetization opportunities," the community responds with their wallets.
What This Success Means for the Future
Guillaume Broche, the creative director, has been pretty vocal about not wanting to turn Sandfall into a massive corporate machine. Even with the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sales making them more money than they probably know what to do with, they aren't looking to hire 500 people and move into a skyscraper.
They want to stay small. They want to stay focused.
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But they did confirm a sequel is in the works. With the current sales trajectory, that sequel will likely have one of the biggest "wishlist" counts in Steam history.
Real-world impact in 2026
We are now seeing the ripple effects. Other studios are looking at Expedition 33 and realizing that maybe, just maybe, players are tired of "live service" nonsense and just want a high-fidelity, single-player story with a beginning, middle, and end.
If you haven't contributed to those sales figures yet, here is the reality: the game is currently a "must-play" for the 2025-2026 cycle.
Next Steps for Players:
- Check the price history: It occasionally dips to $39.99 during Steam seasonal sales, though even at $49.99, it is worth every penny.
- Update your drivers: If you're on PC, make sure you're using the latest DLSS or FSR versions, as the 1.4 update (and recent 2026 patches) significantly improved performance in the more demanding Belle Époque environments.
- Don't skip the side content: The sales success funded a lot of hidden "Pictos" and optional bosses that are actually harder and more rewarding than the main story path.