Ben Starr, who appears in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, is worried the games industry will pick the wrong lesson from the J'RPG's success. The story going around social media that a tiny team made the hit is technically true in one sense, but also incomplete in a dangerous way.
What people are saying
During the game's development, Sandfall Interactive had roughly 33 employees on its books. Around the launch, social channels pushed a tidy message: only about 30 people made one of 2025's best games. That version sounds neat, inspiring, and shareable.
The fuller picture
In reality, elements of the game were outsourced to other studios. When you count everyone who contributed, more than 100 people worked on Clair Obscur. The public focus remained on Sandfall's core team, which is why the "small team made a big game" line spread so easily.
Why this could go wrong
Starr warns that investors and decision makers, many of whom do not have deep knowledge of game production, might use that simplified narrative as justification to push for smaller staffs across the board. The thinking would be: if Sandfall pulled it off with a compact core, why not shrink other teams too?
"The why is the reason why this is successful, and if you can find the answer to the why, you will be able to replicate the success. And I think capitalism is unwilling to ask the why because theyre interested in the how."
The takeaway
Starr's point is practical: success is about more than headcount. How a project is structured, which outside partners are used, and the creative choices behind the game all matter. If the industry only copies the visible parts of a success story and ignores the reasons behind it, studios could end up making harmful choices in the name of efficiency.
So yes, celebrate small teams when they deserve it, but do not confuse a neat social media line with the full production reality.
