Summary
It’s becoming increasingly bleak for the games industry as time goes on,with industry figures like Alanah Pearce claiming the whole thing is “pretty much screwed"unless we see substantial changes. It’s hard to argue too, with mass layoffs happening almost every week,and game/console prices rising so muchthat it’s difficult to imagine how we’re all going to be able to keep up in a few years.
It’s making games likeClair Obscur: Expedition 33exceedingly rare these days, but the fact that the game exists and is seemingly extremely successful is proof that maybe there’s hope yet.With a small development team and budget, Clair Obscur has become a smash hit in just a few days, and now gamers are pointing to it as a “line in the sand” for the industry.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Is A “Line In The Sand” For The Industry, Says RPG Fans
A Reddit user called 8118dx was the first to make this bold claim, as they explain that they hope Clair Obscur causes a “change in the philosophy of many studios in the gaming industry”, and that studios realize they can make popular games with small teams and sensible budgets, rather than the massive titles that cost hundreds of millions to make that we’re seeing so regularly these days.
In a similar post on the gaming subreddit, a user called Shawng7777 calls Clair Obscur a “$50 masterpiece in an $80 industry”, and claims that the cost of making a game doesn’t mean it will be good. Others bring up low-budget success stories that have been made in the past too, such as Lies of P and - more recently - Schedule 1.
Sure, big-budget blockbusters like The Witcher 4 and GTA 6 on the horizon will likely launch, and be incredibly successful, but games like Clair Obscur make you realize that all it can take sometimes is a bunch of talented, passionate developers, a cool idea, and a little bit of luck to make a true smash hit, and it’s not like we’re lacking in those. As 8118dx says, a “return to form from not just the RPG genre, but many others” is needed, and Clair Obscur seems to be proof we can have it.
