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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 creative director Guillaume Broche says his hit JRPG was never "supposed to be big," so its immense success at the Golden Joystick Awards has come as quite a shock.
Last week, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took home seven awards from the Golden Joysticks, including the coveted Ultimate Game of the Year award. Speaking to Radio Times Gaming after the show was over (below), Broche reflects on the journey that Sandfall Interactive's game has been on since launch.
"People don't really realize that now it's become big, but before the launch it was not supposed to be big," he begins. "I think we all felt the same things, like, 'It's going to be cool. It's not going to be big, it's going to be cool.'"
He continues, noting that "it's a weird feeling, when you put your heart out into the world and the world embraces it and gives you so much love back," adding that "we get so much love from the players" via their messages and fan art. "It's so touching and incredible that it's very hard to explain. But we are shell-shocked."
Verso actor Ben Starr adds to this: "People, I think maybe at the end of 2025, are going to forget that this game is a small game. It was never intended to be as big as it is. It's turned into this kind of cultural moment – phenomenon – but that's just because the game is very honest, I think, and a lot of people have bought into that."
He adds: "I don't think anyone expected this because it's a small game and it's become this thing because the people who've played it have really appreciated it. Seeing the word of mouth was wild. Seeing more and more people play it and want to play it. No one expected those numbers, and we've all just been messaging each other, thinking, 'well, this is just silly. This is just silly now. Everyone just stop. It's a silly joke.' But yeah, it's been very cool."
It doesn't seem likely that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's winning streak is going to slow down any time soon, either. It's also been nominated for 12 awards across 10 categories at The Game Awards 2025 – becoming the most nominated game in the show's history. We'll just have to wait and see how many it actually manages to take home next month.
