'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33' sweeps Game of the Year awards with record wins

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has dominated the Game of the Year Awards winning nine out of its record 12 nominations on Thursday, December 11, 2025.

It won the prestigious Game of the Year award along with several other accolades, including:

• Best Game Direction
• Best Narrative
• Best Art Direction
• Best Score and Music
• Best Performance (Jennifer English)
• Best Role-Playing Game
• Best Independent Game
• Best Debut Indie Game

Sandfall Interactive, the creative team behind the game, expressed joy over their achievements. They said that the game was made with a budget of only $10 million, yet dominated an industry where other studios produced with budgets soaring above $700 million.

The gaming company’s chief executive and creative director, Guillaume Broche, said, “We have the tech now to make those games with a relatively small team. Games like this are coming. We are lucky to be early.”

He added, “It was extremely challenging and we went through extensive trial and error before finding the right rhythm. We experimented with camera angles, pacing, music and lighting, which kept evolving right up until the final stages of production.”

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was launched in April 2025 and by October this year, it has sold over 5 million units globally.