Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a “strong signal” that gamers don’t want constant live-service slop, explains BioWare veteran 

Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a strong contender for Game of the Year, and it’s been a huge success for the newbie French studio. With the game expected to sell a total of 10 million copies and a new game already being ruminated upon by the team, it’s clear that the title has been a triumph for the studio. 

In an interview with YouTuber Mr Matty Plays, ex-BioWare executive producer Mark Darrah explained that the unexpected success of the turn-based RPG is a “strong signal” that players are tired of constant live-service games. 

Does Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 mark the end of live-service?

Darrah explained that every publisher simply wants their Fortnite because one huge live-service game generates far more money than a successful one-off title. However, players “don’t want that”, he argues, at least to the capacity that the industry has been pushing for the past decade. 

“I don’t think anyone who plays games really wants the industry to look like that,” the BioWare veteran exclaimed. “But… from a business perspective, that’d be awesome… you only have to worry about five games at your publishing organization, and then one will start to slowly decline, and then you go and you start to hunt for the one that’s going to replace it as it eventually dies.”

Darrah explained that the success of games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Baldur’s Gate 3 and other unique single-player titles prove that live-service is simply less enticing than it used to be. 

“I kind of feel like maybe people are starting to signal with their wallets that they don’t want it [the games industry] to look like that either,” Darrah explained. 

“I think Clair Obscur in a lot of ways is a strong signal, because it’s a game made pretty cheaply with good but not over good visuals,” he continued. 

Of course, there is one exception to the rule: the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto 6. Launching alongside GTA Online, the game is expected to hit a billion dollars in revenue from pre-orders alone, and the live-service component of that particular game is hotly anticipated. 

“Every time I talk, as I’m talking [now], I can just see like the GTA 6 logo rising out of this fog in the back of my mind,” Darrah said. “I think that’s going to be what decides [everything], honestly.”

“If GTA 6 doesn’t sell 70, 80 million copies or whatever GTA 5 sold, then that’s going to signal something,” he continued. “But if it’s basically, you know, if it’s the most successful launch of all time… We’ll see.”

Whatever the case, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a huge success, and one from a fledgling studio with zero prior hits. Maybe it’s only because of great word of mouth, maybe it’s because of the game’s Xbox Game Pass launch, but it’s testament that there is a hunger for strong, single-player games that are also surprisingly affordable.