A dangerous neighbourhood is not a hindrance: Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 triumphantly launched despite the unexpected release of Oblivion Remastered
It would seem that the release of the charming JRPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 just two days after the unexpected release of Bethesda's Oblivion Remastered could have been fatal to its commercial success. However, the developers from Sandfall Interactive and publisher Kepler Interactive showed amazing resilience and confidence in their project.
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Despite launching dangerously close to Oblivion Remastered, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 received universal critical acclaim and demonstrated amazing sales, selling one million copies in just three days. Naturally, Kepler Interactive is more than pleased with the game's reception. The company's senior manager, Matt Handrahan, said in an interview with TheGameBusiness that he never worried about excessive competition from the new Elder Scrolls release.
"We always knew that Expedition 33 had a very distinct identity," Handrahan explained. "When I talked to the press, I saw that Western RPGs and Japanese RPGs appeal to very different audiences and have different preferences. I knew a lot of people who would love to play Elder Scrolls, but not necessarily Final Fantasy, and vice versa."
Handrahan noted that the organic growth of interest in the game, not to mention its $50 price and availability on Game Pass, helped Clair Obscur avoid being swallowed up by the shadow of Oblivion Remastered.
"At the time of our release, we already had our own momentum and felt confident enough to stand alongside it," he said. We were confident in that. And everything went as well as it could, in our opinion. And actually, the proximity to Oblivion doesn't seem to have hurt us at all. In a lot of ways, I think it just drew attention to the quality RPGs that week, and everyone was thinking and talking about the genre."
We would like to remind you that the developers hint at the continuation of the story in the form of DLC, and a film adaptation of Clair Obscur is also being prepared : Expedition 33 is also being prepared.
You can find out more about why the game is so good in our article at this link.
Source: TheGameBusiness
