The French video game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has swept the annual Game Awards in Los Angeles, dominating the ceremony with a record-breaking nine wins, including for best video game of the year.
Issued on: 12/12/2025 - RFI
Guillaume Broche, creator of the video game "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33", accepts the award for Game of the Year at the Game Awards in Los Angeles, on 11 December 2025. © AFP - MICHAEL TRAN
Accepting the top award on an LA stage on Thursday, Sandfall Interactive founder Guillaume Broche appeared both delighted and stunned.
“What a weird timeline for us,” he quipped, before thanking his team and paying tribute to what he called the industry’s “unsung heroes”.
“And also I want to extend thanks to the unsung heroes of this industry – the people who make tutorials on YouTube on how to make a game – because we had no idea how to make a game before,” Broche said, drawing laughter and applause from the audience.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – the first game from the French studio – tells the story of a small group of characters fighting seemingly impossible odds in a post-apocalyptic world rendered in a distinctly French visual style
Accepting the top award on an LA stage on Thursday, Sandfall Interactive founder Guillaume Broche appeared both delighted and stunned.
“What a weird timeline for us,” he quipped, before thanking his team and paying tribute to what he called the industry’s “unsung heroes”.
“And also I want to extend thanks to the unsung heroes of this industry – the people who make tutorials on YouTube on how to make a game – because we had no idea how to make a game before,” Broche said, drawing laughter and applause from the audience.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 – the first game from the French studio – tells the story of a small group of characters fighting seemingly impossible odds in a post-apocalyptic world rendered in a distinctly French visual style
Clair Obscur has sold around 5 million copies worldwide since it was released earlier this year. © Screengrab from xbox.com
The game was nominated in more categories than any other title this year and emerged victorious in many of them, despite stiff competition from major releases such as Death Stranding 2 by industry legend Hideo Kojima of Metal Gear Solid fame, and Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Bananza.
The project began life in 2020 as a personal idea from Broche, who was then working as a developer at French gaming giant Ubisoft.
That same year, he teamed up with former colleague Tom Guillermin to form Sandfall Interactive in the southern French city of Montpellier.
Digital purrfection: how French-developed video game 'Stray' has cats transfixed
'Thank you to the players'
A turning point came in 2022, when the fledgling studio struck a publishing deal with UK-based Kepler Interactive, securing the funding needed to bring the ambitious project to life.
Since its release in April this year, around 5 million copies of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 have been sold worldwide.
“This is a passion project into which we poured our heart and soul,” Broche said in a video, standing alongside members of his team. “To be rewarded like this is just wonderful."
Broche also gave a “massive thank you” to players, whose enthusiasm has helped propel the game from indie debut to global success.
This grassroots popularity has been visible at conventions and game fairs, where fans have turned up dressed in a striped Breton shirt and red beret – one of the most stereotypically French outfits available for characters in the game.
From Belle Époque Paris to global success
Set in the city of Lumière – which bears a striking resemblance to Belle Époque Paris – the action-packed story follows a group of heroes determined to defeat a powerful entity threatening their home.
While unmistakably French in tone and aesthetics, the game also draws clear inspiration from Japanese titles such as the long-running Final Fantasy franchise.
Clair Obscur is a role-playing game built around turn-based combat, pitting players against monsters inhabiting its richly imagined world.
Its popularity has been driven by a blend of emotional storytelling, endearing characters and inventive gameplay, notably the introduction of reactive rhythm-based elements that allow players to parry enemy attacks in time with the action.
Sandfall’s achievement did not go unnoticed within the industry. “Sandfall managed to present something really polished and go toe to toe with major titles,” industry specialist Benoit Reinier told reporters at the time of the game’s release.
Their success has already attracted attention beyond the gaming world. French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the team in May, thanking them for “putting the spotlight on French-style boldness and creativity”.
There are plans in the works to adapt the Expedition 33 story for the big screen.
The awards ceremony itself reflected the growing global reach of the games industry. Streamed across 30 platforms – including Amazon Prime for the first time – the show was packed with trailers for upcoming titles such as Star Wars and Tomb Raider, alongside celebrity appearances including Jason Momoa, who is set to appear in a Street Fighter film due for release next year.
(with AFP)
The game was nominated in more categories than any other title this year and emerged victorious in many of them, despite stiff competition from major releases such as Death Stranding 2 by industry legend Hideo Kojima of Metal Gear Solid fame, and Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Bananza.
The project began life in 2020 as a personal idea from Broche, who was then working as a developer at French gaming giant Ubisoft.
That same year, he teamed up with former colleague Tom Guillermin to form Sandfall Interactive in the southern French city of Montpellier.
Digital purrfection: how French-developed video game 'Stray' has cats transfixed
'Thank you to the players'
A turning point came in 2022, when the fledgling studio struck a publishing deal with UK-based Kepler Interactive, securing the funding needed to bring the ambitious project to life.
Since its release in April this year, around 5 million copies of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 have been sold worldwide.
“This is a passion project into which we poured our heart and soul,” Broche said in a video, standing alongside members of his team. “To be rewarded like this is just wonderful."
Broche also gave a “massive thank you” to players, whose enthusiasm has helped propel the game from indie debut to global success.
This grassroots popularity has been visible at conventions and game fairs, where fans have turned up dressed in a striped Breton shirt and red beret – one of the most stereotypically French outfits available for characters in the game.
From Belle Époque Paris to global success
Set in the city of Lumière – which bears a striking resemblance to Belle Époque Paris – the action-packed story follows a group of heroes determined to defeat a powerful entity threatening their home.
While unmistakably French in tone and aesthetics, the game also draws clear inspiration from Japanese titles such as the long-running Final Fantasy franchise.
Clair Obscur is a role-playing game built around turn-based combat, pitting players against monsters inhabiting its richly imagined world.
Its popularity has been driven by a blend of emotional storytelling, endearing characters and inventive gameplay, notably the introduction of reactive rhythm-based elements that allow players to parry enemy attacks in time with the action.
Sandfall’s achievement did not go unnoticed within the industry. “Sandfall managed to present something really polished and go toe to toe with major titles,” industry specialist Benoit Reinier told reporters at the time of the game’s release.
Their success has already attracted attention beyond the gaming world. French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the team in May, thanking them for “putting the spotlight on French-style boldness and creativity”.
There are plans in the works to adapt the Expedition 33 story for the big screen.
The awards ceremony itself reflected the growing global reach of the games industry. Streamed across 30 platforms – including Amazon Prime for the first time – the show was packed with trailers for upcoming titles such as Star Wars and Tomb Raider, alongside celebrity appearances including Jason Momoa, who is set to appear in a Street Fighter film due for release next year.
(with AFP)
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