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)
How 'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33' became a gaming tour de force
Issued on: 12/12/2025 - FRANCE24
06:00 min
PRESS REVIEW – Friday, December 12: A US defence news website reports on leaks from the National Security Strategy, which reveal how the Trump administration is trying to pull four EU nations away from the bloc. Also: World Darts champion Luke Littler begins his campaign to defend his title. Plus: French video game "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" wins big at the Games Awards and becomes a symbol of French success.
The Trump administration hopes to persuade four EU countries to leave the bloc, according to leaks reported by the US website Defense One. The site, which reports on US defence news, leaked details from the classified US National Security Strategy. It reports that Trump would like to "Make Europe Great Again" by focusing US relationships on four nations: the like-minded right-wing governments of Austria, Hungary, Italy and Poland. The goal would be to pull them away from the EU or encourage a UK-style exit. As the Times of London elaborates, the report also revealed Trump's desire to create a Core 5, or C5 group made up of the US, China, Russia, India and Japan. The group would hold regular summits with the first order of business being to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The Times notes that the White House has denied the existence of any classified version. John Crace for the Guardian writes that Trump's threats to "destabilise European democracies, support far right nationalists, withdraw from NATO and support Russia" constitute a moment of "existential crisis for Europe." He adds: "It’s time to wake up because when the US president says this stuff, you had better believe him."
The Times of London also looks at how Trump's MAGA allies have been courting the European far right. This week, a delegation of 20 MPs from the far-right German AfD party travelled to the US, while their foreign policy spokesman is on good terms with Moscow. The Times says Europe fears that drink parties with Russia and scathing criticism of centrist governments could morph into "Cold War-esque interferences across the continent." The Wall Street Journal’s editors argue that Washington could have a positive influence on Europe – Trump's demand for more defence spending could spearhead welfare reforms. However, courting the European far right could ironically be counterproductive, it warns: "They are of instinctively anti-American" and "anti-economic reform."
In sports news, British darts world champion Luke Littler has begun his campaign to defend his title. Luke "The Nuke" Littler shook off first-night nerves and beat his Lithuanian rival in straight sets on the opening night of the 2025-26 edition in London. Littler, 18, became the youngest ever darts world champion this year. "Littler is buzzing," the Daily Mirror says. "Hot lips Luke in a pucker start", the Daily Star says, referring to his big smooch with his girlfriend after that match.
We end with a French triumph at the Oscars of video games. Le Figaro reports that "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" won big at the Games Awards in Los Angeles on Thursday. It picked up nine awards, including video game of the year. Le Figaro evokes its "historic success" – it is the first French video game to win game of the year. It's certainly a French success story for Sandfall Interactive, the tiny Montpellier studio of about 30 people which produced the game that has since sold more than 2 million copies. The Guardian explains that it started out as a side hustle for developer Guillaume Broche while he was working at Ubisoft. The narrative-driven roleplaying game offers a "unique world, challenging combat and music" set against the Lumières period. Broche says he worked eight hours a day on the game while working full-time. Le Monde notes that the game also seduced players because it leans into its Frenchness, a strategy that up until now was reserved mainly for indie video games.
You can catch our press review every morning on France 24 at 7:20am and 9:20am (Paris time), from Monday to Friday.
No comments:
Post a Comment