Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Became Xbox Game Pass’ Biggest New Third-Party Launch of 2025

In a year already packed with blockbuster releases and surprise hits, few industry watchers would have bet on a stylish new turn based RPG from a debut studio becoming one of 2025’s defining success stories. Yet that is exactly what happened with Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. It arrived quietly on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, launching on Xbox Game Pass on day one and sharing its release window with the sudden drop of The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Remastered. On paper, that sounded like a nightmare slot for visibility.

In practice, it became the opening chapter of one of the biggest Xbox Game Pass stories of the year.

Despite competing directly with one of the most beloved role playing games of all time returning in remastered form, Clair Obscur not only held its ground but carved out a place at the very centre of the conversation. According to Xbox itself via Xbox Wire, Sandfall Interactive’s debut project went on to secure and maintain the title of biggest new third party launch on Xbox Game Pass in 2025. For a first game from a brand new studio, standing next to titans like Elder Scrolls and still dominating a key Game Pass metric is an achievement that immediately changes how both players and publishers talk about the team.

The wording of that accolade matters. Xbox is specifically tracking the biggest new third party launch on Game Pass in a given period, measured by how many unique players fire up the game in its first 30 days of availability. This is not a vague buzz award, but a concrete audience metric that reflects real players trying the game, not just copies shipped or wishlists filled. The tracking framework itself was introduced only the year before, when Palworld exploded onto the service and claimed the record for the biggest third party launch ever on Game Pass, forcing Xbox to start talking publicly about these numbers.

Because of that history, some fans half jokingly floated conspiracies that Xbox had fine tuned its metrics just to ride the Clair Obscur wave ahead of awards season. After all, the game has already been widely described as the game of 2025 in the current zeitgeist, especially following its remarkable night at the Golden Joysticks. But the reality is more straightforward. Xbox had been highlighting Clair Obscur long before its stellar launch week. The game featured prominently in the January Developer Direct presentation, following an initial reveal back in summer 2024. Microsoft clearly saw potential early on and chose to back Sandfall Interactive as one of the flagships for how Game Pass can elevate ambitious, art driven role playing games.

The measurement itself is simple, but the implications are powerful. When Xbox says Clair Obscur was the biggest new third party Game Pass launch of 2025, it means that across that crucial first month, more individual accounts started the game than any other comparable third party title arriving on the service this year. At the exact moment it felt like the whole industry was in the grip of Clair Obscur fever, those numbers confirm that players did not just talk about Sandfall’s game, they actively jumped in to discover what the fuss was about.

For Sandfall Interactive, a small studio stepping into the harsh spotlight of a global audience for the first time, this outcome reads almost like a dream. Creative director Guillaume Broche has been candid about how nerve wracking it was to launch a debut project with so much riding on it. In his comments on Xbox Wire, he emphasised that 2025 has already gone far beyond anything the team dared to imagine, and he credited that to the passion and support of players who championed the game from day one. That kind of reception does not just validate years of development; it gives a young studio the confidence and resources to plan much more ambitiously for whatever comes next.

Broche also highlighted just how important the partnership with Xbox and the decision to launch on Game Pass were in shaping Clair Obscur’s trajectory. From the public reveal in summer 2024 to the cameras visiting the studio for the Developer Direct feature in January, Microsoft helped the team put the game in front of millions of potential players before release. For a turn based RPG with a distinctive style and an unfamiliar universe, that visibility is priceless. It turned Expedition 33 from an intriguing curiosity into a must try event the moment it dropped on the subscription service.

The genre element is crucial here. Turn based RPGs have a passionate and loyal audience, but they can sometimes intimidate or put off players who associate them with slower pacing or complex systems. Broche pointed out that Game Pass effectively dissolved that barrier. With the game included in the subscription, curious players who might have skipped a full price purchase could simply download it, explore the early hours in the city of Lumiere and discover that its blend of cinematic presentation, timing based battle mechanics and character driven storytelling felt far more immediate than they expected. The service turned curiosity into commitment at a scale that would have been hard to achieve otherwise.

This, in many ways, is the ideal version of the promise Microsoft has been making for Game Pass from the beginning. A new studio with an unproven IP gets a global stage and a low friction path for players to try the game. In return, Game Pass gains a standout exclusive launch window moment that keeps subscribers engaged and reinforces the idea that you cannot afford to ignore what drops on the service each week. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 did not just benefit from Game Pass; it also became one of the strongest arguments for why the model can still surprise and delight, even in a saturated market.

Critical reception quickly matched the enthusiasm of players. Wccftech’s Francesco De Meo awarded the game an impressive 9.5 out of 10 earlier in the year, describing it as a leading contender for Game of the Year thanks to its confident combat design, emotional storytelling and striking visual identity. That early praise was only the beginning. By the time awards season rolled around, Clair Obscur had effectively taken over the Golden Joysticks, walking away with seven trophies, including the coveted Ultimate Game of the Year award. For a newcomer to sweep a ceremony that often favours long running franchises is itself a signal of how thoroughly the game captured hearts and minds.

Now attention turns to The Game Awards, where Clair Obscur enters the night with twelve nominations across major categories. It is entirely possible that Sandfall Interactive will repeat its Golden Joysticks performance on an even bigger stage, further cementing Expedition 33 as the breakout hit of 2025. Whatever happens, the combination of record breaking Game Pass launch metrics and awards haul has already ensured that this is no longer just a cult favourite. It is a new pillar of the modern RPG landscape.

For Xbox, the success story offers a valuable case study in how to nurture third party titles on Game Pass without overshadowing them with first party giants. Clair Obscur was allowed to shine on its own terms, even while sharing launch space with the surprise arrival of Oblivion Remastered. Rather than being drowned out, the new game sat alongside the legendary classic and still drove more first month players on the subscription service among new third party offerings. That is a powerful message for other studios considering whether to bring their next project to Game Pass on day one.

For players, meanwhile, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has become a symbol of why it is worth paying attention not only to the heavy hitters everybody expects, but also to the strange, evocative titles with unfamiliar names and fresh faces behind them. In an industry often dominated by safe bets and sequels, Sandfall Interactive managed to turn a risky debut into a landmark success. From a distance, it might look like a miracle. Up close, it is the result of sharp creative vision, smart platform partnerships and a community eager to embrace something new.