Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Dev Explains Game’s Low Price

Key Takeaways

• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will be priced at $49.99 at launch, with Sandfall Interactive citing accessibility as the main reason for this decision.
• The developer estimates that its upcoming RPG will take at least 30 hours to complete, while noting it will also have plenty of side content for completionists to enjoy.
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is planned to launch in spring 2025 for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. It will also be a day-one Xbox Game Pass release.

The relatively low price of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is rooted in a desire to make the game as accessible as possible, Sandfall Interactive said. The developer also offered assurances to fans worried that the RPG’s price is a signal that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won’t have a lot of content.

Originally announced during the June 2024 Xbox Games Showcase, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a JRPG-like experience made by Montpellier, France-based studio Sandfall Interactive. Its pre-orders went live in mid-October 2024, when it was revealed that the game will retail for $49.99. This took some fans by surprise, to the point that there was even some online speculation about the listed price possibly being a mistake.

In a subsequent statement, Sandfall Interactive confirmed that the $49.99 pricing is “accurate.” Elaborating on the reasons behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33‘s budget price, the studio said that it wanted to make its debut title maximally accessible. Offering it at a $20 (~28%) discount compared to what a typical big-budget game costs these days on release is its way of doing so. “We aren’t an AAA studio, this is our first game, and we want as many people discovering our world as possible,” a company representative explained.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Promises Decent-Sized Campaign

The same statement also saw the studio reflect on the game’s length, estimating that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 will take at least 30 hours to beat for those who solely focus on its main story. While that figure doesn’t exactly make it one of the longest RPGs ever, Sandfall also promised to include a plethora of side content for completionists to enjoy.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is presently targeting a spring 2025 launch. It will be published by British game distributor Kepler Interactive. The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of the RPG will be released physically in addition to digitally, while the PC port will be digital-only, available via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

We aren’t an AAA studio, this is our first game, and we want as many people discovering our world as possible.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is likely to face stiff competition at launch, as there is no shortage of high-profile RPGs slated for 2025. But its $49.99 price tag in an era of $70 games could go a long way in helping it stand out from its rivals, not least because it reflects a consumer-friendly mindset. The RPG will technically be playable for an even lower price at launch, as it has already been confirmed as a day-one Xbox Game Pass release. The decision to bring it to Microsoft’s subscription service aligns with Sandfall’s newly stated goal of making Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as accessible as it can possibly be.