Sandfall's 'We Don't Care If You Hate It' Attitude Is Exactly What Gaming Needs Right Now

Guillaume Broche, founder of Sandfall Interactive and director of the breakout RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, has offered a strikingly unbothered take on the reception his studio's next game might receive. Speaking on the Konbini YouTube channel's Video Game Club segment, Broche said plainly: 'Maybe people won't like it. That's life. We didn't make the first game to please anyone, and I think that's why it worked.' It's a statement that would sound arrogant from almost anyone else, but given what Sandfall has already achieved, it reads as something rarer — genuine artistic confidence.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launched to extraordinary fanfare earlier this year, sweeping up three BAFTA awards, a DICE Game of the Year prize, acknowledgment from the French president, and estimated global sales of over six million copies. The game drew inspiration from celebrated but underappreciated titles including Persona 5, Lost Odyssey, and Blue Dragon, channeling their systems into something fresh that reinvigorated turn-based RPG combat for a new generation. It accomplished all of this without chasing industry trends or kowtowing to market research — a fact Broche and his team have been remarkably consistent in highlighting.

This week's comments aren't entirely new territory for Sandfall. Back at the start of the year, following the studio's dominant showing at The Game Awards 2025, chief operating officer François Meurisse similarly brushed off the weight of expectation, describing the resulting pressure as 'not so important to us.' Lead writer Jennifer Svedberg-Yen echoed the sentiment even then, warning that too many creative works lose their soul by trying to please everyone. The studio appears united around a philosophy that puts internal creative vision above external validation — and so far, the market has rewarded that philosophy handsomely.

The timing of these remarks gives them extra resonance. Across the wider industry, a very different story is unfolding. Xbox is reportedly heading toward a sweeping reset that could see beloved studios shuttered in favor of iterating on established franchises like Halo, Gears, and Call of Duty. Meanwhile, IO Interactive — developer of the acclaimed 007: First Light — is losing staff as investors pull back. The contrast between Sandfall's momentum and the turbulence surrounding larger, more corporate operations is difficult to ignore.

Sandfall's second project remains unannounced and undescribed in any meaningful detail, but Broche has previously noted that Final Fantasy 8 is his all-time favorite game. Speculation among fans has naturally drifted toward what a Sandfall take on an Active Time Battle system might look like, given the studio's evident love for classic JRPG mechanics. Whatever direction the team chooses, they have earned the goodwill and the runway to take genuine risks — and if their debut is any indication, those risks may well pay off spectacularly.