Hideo Kojima Praises Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s “Ideal” Small Team Approach
Famous game designer Hideo Kojima, known for his boundary-pushing imagination for games such as Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding, delivered some unexpected praise for a fellow developer this week, Sandfall Interactive, the French-based studio behind the newly disclosed turn-based RPG, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
In what seems to be a rare public commentary on another company’s development process, Kojima noted in a podcast called “Brain Structure” and also posted on X that he liked the “small but focused” team structure for Expedition 33. Kojima felt that the appropriate team size of approximately 30-40 developers was the best way to “create something meaningful and creatively aspirational without losing oneself to corporate mechanics.”
Kojima, who runs Kojima Productions, which is relatively small but elite, emphasized the importance of intimacy and closeness of rapport in game development teams.
“Too many people and you lose your identity. Too few and you lose your potential. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has found that happy medium,” said Kojima.
“It’s exactly the kind of game I would’ve made at the beginning of my career- artistic, bold, and emotionally curious.”
The remark has ignited debate throughout the global gaming community, particularly as Expedition 33 made news and garnered attention due to its stunning debut trailer at Summer Game Fest 2025. A stunning blend of a painterly European fantasy world and surrealism, Expedition 33 has been compared to BioShock Infinite and Final Fantasy XII, but with a thrilling combat system based on mythic turn-based JRPGs, such as Persona and Bravely Default.
Built in Unreal Engine 5, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 tells the story of a group of outcasts trying to survive in a world devastated by the Paintress. She is a mystical being who is said to paint names on a cursed canvas, and people will cease to exist when their name is painted. Each year, she paints a new number, and each year, everyone that age dies. This year it is 33.
The narrative concept of the game is indeed ambitious, but what is most impressive is the production values and cinematic scale being delivered by such a small team, with real-time transitions seamlessly going between combat, all expressive character animations, and an orchestra.
“Having a smaller team allowed the team to be more artistically aligned, and we were able to put the game together more effectively,” says Sandfall Interactive CEO Guillaume Broche.
Since Kojima Productions has a habit of working with emerging studios, a potential future collaboration between Sandfall and Kojima Productions cannot be ruled out.
Kojima even hinted that he wanted to “mentor new storytellers who still believe games can be poetry.”
Expedition 33 will be released in 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. A playable demo is expected in the Fall of 2025.
With a novel idea, a laser-focused team, and now the public endorsement of one of the industry’s foremost minds, Expedition 33 is shaping up to be 2026’s indie darling, if not more, as the anticipation surrounding the game builds.
Keep reading khiladicafe
About The Author
