Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has sold over a million copies, numbers published outside of unknown Xbox Game Pass statistics, and it's dominating Game of the Year conversations already.
The game, the first made by French studio Sandfall Interactive, has even caught the attention of France's President, Emmanuel Macron, who took to Instagram to share praise for the developers in a touching comment.
Macron congratulates Sandfall Interactive on their achievement
I failed at French in high school, so here's the Google translation to the rescue.
"A million copies and to date, one of the best-rated games in history: and yes, it's French!" Macron says in the comment that's already at over 1700 likes,
"Congratulations to Sandfall Interactive and all the creators of Expedition 33. You are a shining example of French audacity and creativity."
A nice change from the usual
I must say it's quite refreshing to see such a public figure, let alone a head of Government giving praise to a video game, although I would like to ask where was Keir Starmer when Atomfall hit 1.5 million players?
He could have commented "Your impact on the sales of Cornish pasties and tins of SPAM will forever be appreciated." Maybe.
Either way, normally video games are the scapegoat for governments to blame violent youths on, indeed even Macron was guilty of this during the 2023 riots in France when he was quoted as saying "it sometimes feels like some of them are experiencing on the streets the videogames that have intoxicated them."
He did later change retract his comments on Twitter/X saying that he simply wished to condemn violence, not video games.
" I have always considered that video games are an opportunity for France, for our youth and their future, for our jobs and our economy."
J’ai fait bondir les gamers. J’ai pourtant toujours considéré que les jeux vidéo sont une chance pour la France, pour notre jeunesse et son avenir, pour nos emplois et notre économie. Je veux être (plus) clair.…September 16, 2023
Deserved encouragement for Sandfall Interactive
Despite many claiming the launch of Elder Scrolls 6: Oblivion Remaster would take the spotlight away from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, they have defied the odds and gone from strength to strength in terms of both sales and critical reception since the game launched.
Sandfall Interactive, a team made up of former Ubisoft employees, is now responsible for the highest-rated game on Metacritic, no small feat — and it's bloody fantastic to see the French President acknowledging their achievement.
