Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Release Date Announced

Apparently, there was an Xbox Direct last Thursday. It would have been nice if they had advertised that to the press. Anyway, among the myriad of announcements were new details on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. I’ve been interested in this new RPG for a while, and we finally have a release date.

Barring any major delays, it seems that Sandfall Interactive and Kepler Interactive will be releasing Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 on April 24^th, 2025. This epic turn-based RPG got a new trailer, showcasing some new story elements as well as new mechanics and a glimpse at combat. Here’s what the press release says about what the presentation covered:

“Sandfall Interactive shared details about Expedition 33’s development origins, plus several new gameplay features sure to intrigue fans looking forward to the game’s upcoming release. Filmed on location at Sandfall Interactive’s studio in Montpellier, France, several members of the development team shared more detail on the game’s emotional story, stunning art direction inspired by Belle Époque France, and its innovative reactive turn-based combat gameplay, which infuses traditional RPG mechanics with real-time defensive and offensive abilities.

Additionally, the team revealed brand-new characters players will encounter during their adventure: the friendly, yet bloodthirsty, Monoco (voiced by Rich Keeble) and the larger-than-life Esquie (voiced by Maxence Cazorla).

Monoco the Gestral joins the Expedition as a fully playable character, bringing his own unique playstyle to battles by transforming himself into the enemies the party encounters and using their abilities against them, while Esquie is an altogether more unusual character that players will befriend and use to discover the game’s explorable world. Throughout the game, players will unlock more abilities with Esquie, letting the Expedition climb aboard and traverse, swim, and soar across the game’s newly revealed overworld map.

Reminiscent of classic RPGs that inspired Expedition 33’s turn-based gameplay, the world map gives players [the] freedom to explore various new locations and secrets on their path to destroy the Paintress. Outside of rich level-based environments like Ancient Sanctuary and the Gestral Village, the overworld has unique discoverable caves and bespoke locations hosting challenging optional battles and side quests, providing extensive opportunities for players to test their mettle and master the game’s deep and rewarding character-building mechanics.

Players will also be able to set up camp on the overworld, taking time to reinforce their character weapons and builds, listen to the game’s stunning original score via an in-game record player, and have conversations with their teammates to learn more about their stories and motivations on their path to destroy the Paintress.”

After watching the trailer, I’m even more excited to dive deeper into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. The premise captured my attention when it was announced last year, and I’m even more curious now. April isn’t that far away, so it won’t be that much of a wait until we have it in our hands. You can watch the full Xbox Direct below.