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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Soars After Sweeping Game Awards Victory
December 17, 2025Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 wasn’t just the biggest story at this year’s Game Awards; it’s now breaking records everywhere you look. The RPG, developed by Sandfall Interactive, has seen a surge in both sales and player counts since taking home the coveted Game of the Year trophy, among other top honours at the show.
The numbers are staggering. In the wake of its historic win on November 17, the game has sold almost 400,000 additional copies, according to Alinea Analytics. That’s on top of already phenomenal milestones earlier in the year: 3.3 million copies sold by May, then smashing through 5 million sold worldwide by October. The awards ceremony didn’t just give the game another trophy for the case; it supercharged its momentum.
Award Wins Trigger Massive Sales and Player Spikes
Rhys Elliott, head of market analysis at Alinea, broke down the specifics. Since The Game Awards, over 200,000 extra copies have been snapped up. Steam is leading the charge: 76% of post-awards sales came from Valve’s platform, with 21% on PS5 and 3% on Xbox. That’s a clear sign of where the RPG audience is spending their money right now.
The numbers aren’t just about sales. Xbox Game Pass saw a wave of first-time adventurers, with around 52,000 new players diving into Expedition 33 through the subscription. And if you want raw player count spikes, SteamDB has the receipts: The Sunday before the awards saw 22,759 Steam players logged into Clair Obscur. The Sunday after? 56,993. That’s a leap of 34,234 concurrent players in one week. It’s the kind of traffic developers only dream of.
Graph after graph (as mapped out by Alinea Analytics and SteamDB) shows the same distinctive uptick; sales bars and player counts shooting upward right after the awards.
A French Triumph With Global Impact
Success on this scale doesn’t go unnoticed at home. French President Emmanuel Macron publicly recognised the game’s Game of the Year victory, calling it a source of “great pride for Montpellier and for France.” That’s the kind of governmental shoutout you rarely see in gaming.
And Sandfall Interactive wasn’t done with the celebrations. During the Game Awards broadcast, the devs revealed that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s latest expansion, previously only teased, was available for all players right away. It’s great news for fans hungry for more content, though word on the street is the new bosses are especially tough. Judging by the player surge, thousands were clearly ready to take on the challenge.
Despite the flood of newcomers, this isn’t just a flash in the pan. Clair Obscur’s post-award boom suggests its reputation is here to stay, fuelled by critical acclaim, measured in sales, and now stamped with official approval from the very top of French culture. If you needed proof that awards shows still matter, look no further than Expedition 33.
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