Ubisoft Director's Boredom Fuels 2025 Game of the Year Contender

The director behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was looking for a new challenge, which led him to create what would become 2025's top-rated game. Discover the story behind the developers' motivation and the founding of Sandfall Interactive.

How Boredom Sparked the Creation of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Breaking Away from the Norm

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 quickly became an instant classic, earning the title of 2025's highest-rated game and selling over one million copies in just three days. What's remarkable is that this game-of-the-year contender emerged from a place of boredom and a longing to create something truly unique.

On May 4, BBC News sat down with the developers at Sandfall Interactive to uncover the game's origins. Director Guillaume Broche shared that the project began as a way to combat his own restlessness. While working at Ubisoft during the peak of the 2020 pandemic, he felt a creative itch and started developing a game concept.

Broche had been a lifelong fan of the JRPG series Final Fantasy and was driven to craft a similar experience. He turned to Reddit to start pursuing his vision.

An Unexpected Opportunity

To bring his idea to life, Broche reached out to potential collaborators on Reddit and various online forums. At the time, his concept—a turn-based game set in the Belle Époque era—wasn't exactly trending. Still, Broche persisted in seeking talent for his passion project.

Jennifer Svedberg-Yen, who was in lockdown in Australia, was one of the first to respond. She came across Broche's Reddit post calling for voice actors and decided to give it a shot. "I thought, 'I've never done that before, but it sounds interesting,' so I sent him an audition," Svedberg-Yen recalled. She was initially hired to voice a major character but eventually became the lead writer for Expedition 33.

Broche eventually left Ubisoft to focus entirely on Expedition 33, founding Sandfall Interactive in the process. After securing funding from publisher Kepler Interactive, the core team expanded to around 30 members. Many were recruited through unconventional channels, including composer Lorien Testard, who connected with the team via Soundcloud.

Thanks to Kepler Interactive's backing, the studio was able to bring in well-known actors such as Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Ben Starr (Final Fantasy XVI), Jennifer English (Baldur’s Gate 3), and Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings).

Even as the team grew, Broche and Svedberg-Yen mentioned that they "wore many hats" throughout development. Core team members often worked outside their official roles—Svedberg-Yen, for example, also handled translations for multiple languages. "We have an amazing team, mostly of junior developers, but they are incredibly dedicated and talented," Broche noted.

The story behind Expedition 33 is as enchanting as the game itself. Fueled by boredom and a stroke of luck, Sandfall Interactive has delivered a timeless game that will be enjoyed for years. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. For the latest updates, check out our article below!