Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 sets itself apart with immersive reactive turn-based battles, a mature and moving narrative and a stunning, evocative art style inspired by French and Parisienne art and architecture. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 promises players a beautiful story-driven experience and an emotional cast of characters that will stay with them long after the credits roll.

Once a year, the Paintress wakes to paint a cursed number upon her monolith and everyone of that age instantly turns to smoke and fades away. Year by year, that number ticks down. Tomorrow she’ll wake and paint “33.” Join Gustave, and his fellow Expeditioners as they embark on a desperate quest to break the Paintress’ cycle of death once and for all. Retracing the steps of dozens of failed Expeditions before them, players will overcome powerful enemies and fight to save the future of their world. Set in a dreamlike world, the story unfolds as fantasy and art converge, backed by an enchanting soundtrack to create a breathtaking story unlike any other. 

Powered by Unreal Engine 5, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, or ‘Expedition 33,’ is an innovative reactive turn-based RPG with immersive real-time offensive and defensive commands to enhance combat, making battles more engaging than ever. Players will master their offensive skills and magical abilities, dodge, parry and counter enemy assaults in real time, and target enemy weak points using a ranged free-aim system to overcome seemingly overwhelming odds. Furthermore, players will be able to customize each character’s unique stat growth, skill tree and gear alongside a wide range of learnable passive traits, offering endless opportunities to fine-tune their preferred strategies. 

Microsoft announced teveloper Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the biggest new third-party game launch on Xbox Game Pass of 2025.

That’s based on the number of unique users in the first 30 days of its availability, which means a huge number of Xbox players joined Maelle, Gustave, Esquie, and the gang on their journey right from the beginning.

"This year has been so far beyond what any of us could have imagined, and it’s down to how passionate and supportive our fans have been to make that a reality. It’s really nerve-wracking to be a new studio releasing our first game, but the support of everyone has really made everything feel like a dream, said Sandfall Interactive creative director Guillaume Broche.

“From the start, Sandfall’s ambition was clear and we really felt they wanted to create something truly special, something beyond expectations for the team. Once we played early builds, we experienced their gripping story, stunning visuals and the mix of JRPG mechanics with French cultural themes that felt fresh and distinctive. It’s the kind of experience we knew Xbox players would love to discover,” added ID@Xbox Director Guy Richards.

For Broche, that support from Xbox was instrumental in helping the game make as big a splash as it has. “From being there to announce our game back in Summer 2024, to coming to the studio for the Developer_Direct video in January, Xbox helped us get the word out there and reach a lot of players.”

He also noted how Game Pass allowed them to reach a much wider audience, “letting a lot of people try our game when maybe they might not have before. The turn-based RPG genre has a lot of fans but sometimes it might put people who prefer more real-time action games off, but Game Pass lowered that barrier of entry. They could just try it and see how it feels. So a lot of curious players could start the game, explore Lumière and the early game, and realize there’s a lot to enjoy here, even if they weren’t expecting it at first.”

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is available for Xbox Series X|S (available day one with Xbox Game Pass), PS5 and PC (Steam / Epic Games Store).