Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Becomes the Biggest Third-Party Game Pass Game of 2025

Taking the world by storm was a small studio of 33 people in Montpellier, France, that has jumped to the top of most players' Game of the Year lists and quickly become a household name: Sandfall Interactive.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is currently nominated for 12 awards at the upcoming Geoff Keighley showcase, The Game Awards, next week. Not only do they lead with this year's most nominations, but they also swept the Golden Joystick Awards ceremony as well. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is Sandfall Interactive’s debut RPG title - a new studio with a spin on the popular turn-based RPG genre that proves thinking outside the box can not only be fulfilling, but also very rewarding for players looking for something fresh and exciting.

With 12 nominations for The Game Awards and lighting up the Golden Joystick Awards, it should come as no surprise to find out that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the biggest new third-party game to launch on Xbox Game Pass for 2025. In a post over on Xbox Wire, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's numbers were based on the number of unique users in the first 30 days on the Game Pass platform, exceeding everyone’s expectations, including Sandfall Interactive.

Creative director Guillaume Broche said:

“This year has been so far beyond what any of us could have imagined, and it’s down to how passionate and supportive our fans have been to make that a reality. It’s really nerve-wracking to be a new studio releasing our first game, but the support of everyone has really made everything feel like a dream.”

ID@Xbox Director Guy Richards knew this was something special:

“From the start, Sandfall’s ambition was clear and we really felt they wanted to create something truly special, something beyond expectations for the team. Once we played early builds, we experienced their gripping story, stunning visuals, and the mix of JRPG mechanics with French cultural themes that felt fresh and distinctive. It’s the kind of experience we knew Xbox players would love to discover.”

Broche went on to say that Game Pass allowed the game to reach an audience that the team may have never been able to captivate without the platform:

“Letting a lot of people try our game when maybe they might not have before. The turn-based RPG genre has a lot of fans, but sometimes it might put people who prefer more real-time action games off, but Game Pass lowered that barrier of entry. They could just try it and see how it feels. So a lot of curious players could start the game, explore Lumière and the early game, and realize there’s a lot to enjoy here, even if they weren’t expecting it at first.”

Have you played Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? Let us know over in our Discord. Is it your Game of the Year?