Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been one of 2025’s breakout success stories in gaming, and it was developed on a relatively small budget, apparently.
The New York Times reports that the budget was “less than $10 million,” crediting the information to developer Sandfall. The report added that the team “conserved resources” by purposefully avoiding an open-world setup in favor of making Expedition 33 a turn-based game.
Sandfall’s Guillaume Broche said Sandfall now has the right technology to “make those games with a relatively small team,” and he hopes to see more like it from other studios.
“Games like this are coming. We are lucky to be early,” he said.
Broche did not elaborate as to what technology specifically he was referring to as it relates to being able to embrace new systems to build games on a smaller budget. GameSpot has contacted Sandfall for further details on Expedition 33’s budget.
Independent developer Billy Basso, who made Animal Well, said he hopes to see “more straightforward games” in the future. “You don’t need to fill your game with hundreds of hours of checklist content,” Basso said.
Expedition 33 was also notable for its relatively lower price point, as the game sells for $50 instead of the $70 or more that many other games ask. Some industry-watchers have theorized that AAA games are becoming unsustainable due in part to their larger budgets, and in turn, the requirement that they sell lots of copies to make their money back.
Expedition 33 was developed by a “core team” of about 30 people, the report said, with battle animations outsourced to a studio in Korea. Sandfall also worked with other external teams on things like marketing and localization. The game’s credits list hundreds of people who worked on the game, and this has led some to question if the game should have received a nomination for “Best Independent Game” game at The Game Awards. Previous estimates suggested the game’s budget was as much as $25 million.
The game has sold more than 5 million copies and broke Xbox Game Pass records. It’s nominated for 12 awards at The Game Awards, including overall Game of the Year, and that’s the most nominations for any game in the show’s history.
For more, check out GameSpot’s rundown of how to watch and what to expect from The Game Awards.
