How 33 Ex-Ubisoft Devs at Sandfall Interactive Just Saved The Entire Gaming Industry

Anyone who's been paying attention over the past few years will tell you that the video game industry feels like a bloated, soulless mess... While at the same time, being obsessed with “live-service” cash grabs over and over again.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 bursts onto the scene like a lightning strike — and it's sending shockwaves through the entire industry, for reasons that most didn't see coming...

Developed by Sandfall Interactive, a fairly new studio of just 33 extremely talented employees — and ironically, many ex-Ubisoft veterans — this game isn't just good. It might be the clearest sign yet to everyone that the real future of gaming lies in small, tight-knit passionate teams, not within those massive corporate machines.

Founded in 2020 in France, Sandfall was built on their simple but powerful belief:

We believe the latest game-making technologies now make it possible for indie teams to deliver outstanding production value in a realistic 3D graphic style.

...And with Expedition 33, they didn’t just deliver — they made a statement.

An ACTUAL Return to Form for Gaming

Where big publishers like Ubisoft and EA have become bloated and stumbled, Sandfall has soared. Expedition 33 feels like that real "return to form" that gamers have been begging for — a single-player, narrative-driven experience with stunning visuals, real heart, and an unforgettable musical score within a world inspired by Europe's Belle Époque art movement.

They weren't chasing trends. It was never about checking diversity boxes. It's not at all begging for any kind of microtransactions. No. This is pure, immersive escapism — the very spirit that made gaming magical back in the day in the first place.

In just a day, Expedition 33 has:

Outperformed every Ubisoft game launch from the last two years on Steam.
Sold over 500,000 copies — despite launching day-one on Game Pass.
Completely embarrassed AAA "live-service" games like Skull and Bones and Star Wars Outlaws that had exponentially ridiculously larger budgets and teams.

And perhaps the greatest irony? Sandfall’s CEO and Creative Director, Guillaume Broche, was once part of Ubisoft itself, working as an Associate Producer and Narrative Lead before leaving to build something better. This is a team that clearly knows exactly how bloated and broken the old system is — and they chose a new path.

Ubisoft currently employs nearly 20,000 people worldwide, yet the sheer amount of corporate bloat has never been more obvious.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, built by this tiny team of passionate developers, has already surpassed Ubisoft's bloated, high-budget projects like Assassin's Creed Shadows — a game that has been rumored to have cost anywhere between $350–and upwards of $800 million to produce.

It’s quite the... staggering reminder that throwing endless bodies and money at a project doesn’t guarantee quality, and in fact, might be the very thing that kills creativity and genuine innovation.

Why This Matters So Much

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 isn't just a success story. It’s a proof of concept for the entire gaming industry: small, hungry teams can now crush corporate giants. With tools like Unreal Engine 5, smart pipelines, and sheer creative passion, the indie spirit is finally breaking out, capable of matching — and even surpassing — billion-dollar corporations.

This could be the start of a total industry shift:

Away from safe, checklist-driven game design.
Away from microtransaction-infested, unfinished “live-service” garbage.
Toward rich, complete, handcrafted experiences built by teams who actually care.

...In other words, the cream rising to the top. The way it should be.

The New Standard

Sandfall Interactive’s vision is now the new gold standard. If massive studios like Ubisoft, EA, and Activision don’t wake up, they all risk being permanently left behind by leaner, smarter teams that deliver what gamers actually want.

In Ubisoft's case, many (including myself, of course) could argue that proverbial ship... has already sailed...

In short: Sandfall didn’t just make a great game — they might have just saved gaming itself.

~Smash