The Surprising Reason Expedition 33 Is Outperforming Other JRPGs
The game '90s Final Fantasy fans dreamed of
It’s no secret that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a smash hit. Not only did the game hold its own against some fierce, well-established competition in terms of sales, but this debut title for developer Sandfall Interactive becoming one of the year’s highest-rated games is sure to be one of the feel-good success stories for all of 2025.
The game has become so successful, that it’s even outperforming the series that most inspired its design. Expedition 33 sold over 785,000 copies on Steam in its first week, more than double what other contemporary JRPGs like Metaphor Re:Fantazio and Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth sold in the same amount of time. Considering the caliber of the developer behind the former and the name recognition of the latter, it’s an impressive feat that most people wouldn’t have bet on before Expedition 33’s debut last month.
Rhys Elliot, head of market analysis for Alinea Analytics, told Game Industry.biz there are some compelling takeaways from the game’s success. The primary one is that it’s “given RPG fans something they always wanted.”
“There was also an opening for a modern, realistic-looking JRPG,” Elliott said in an interview with the outlet. “If you asked Final Fantasy fans from the late ‘90s/early ‘00s what the ideal version of a JRPG should look like, it’d be something like this.”
On X, Elliot elaborated that more recent JRPGs have deviated from the old-school formula that ruled the gaming landscape over two decades ago. And while there’s no shortage of games carrying on the important legacy of those classics the same way Expedition 33 has, many of the biggest modern titles in the genre have either embraced a more stylized look or have gone down the route of more action-heavy gameplay to capture newer, wider audiences.
Final Fantasy producer Naoki Yoshida famously told Famitsu in 2022 that games like Final Fantasy XVI went for real-time combat because of dissenting opinions on turn-based combat. But Expedition 33 proves there is hope yet for the popularity of turn-based games, even new ones not based on existing franchises. Even in the realm of Western RPGs, the overwhelming success of games like Baldur’s Gate 3 proves that players are cool with turned-based confrontations so long as the game’s story and characters are compelling.
Analyst Rhys Elliot says that there was an audience looking for a realistic modern take on the old-school, turn-based RPG.
A handful of other factors worked in favor of Expedition 33’s success. For one, the most fervent of Atlus and Final Fantasy fans likely picked up the title on consoles months before it made the jump to PC months later. Statistics from Alinea Analytics show that Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, for example, sold 1.4 million copies on PlayStation 5 last year, four times what Expedition 33 did in the same amount of time. Still, it’s worth pointing out that Expedition 33 debuted on Xbox and PC Game Pass. Sandfall Interactive was very clear that it sold a million copies despite the game’s availability via a subscription, portraying that people were willing to pay for this experience and keep it in their collection forever.
“The low price point likely also factored in,” Elliot explained. “Our Steam data shows that many players bite the bullet when a AAA game goes on sale and drops below $50.” With Expedition 33 going for just $50, it’s a cold spring in the era of the $80 AAA video game.
Since its release, Expedition 33’s popularity has only continued to snowball week over week. The game reached a new high for concurrent players on Steam over the weekend. The game’s lead writer told a fan on Instagram that Sandfall Interactive hadn’t planned for post-launch DLC, but it is open to the idea so long as fans are interested in additional content for the game.
