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French indie title Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 dominated the annual Game Awards in Los Angeles, taking home a record-breaking nine wins, including the coveted Game of the Year
In a candid moment on stage, Guillaume Broche of Sandfall Interactive quipped, "What a weird timeline for us," as his small team accepted the top honour.
The victory was particularly stunning given the competition; the studio squared up against industry heavyweights like Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding 2 and Nintendo's Donkey Kong Bananza.
Perhaps the most relatable moment of the night was when Broche credited their success to online learning
"Also, I want to extend thanks to the unsung heroes of this industry — the people who make tutorials on YouTube on how to make a game — because we had no idea how to make a game before," he admitted.
It was a massive achievement for a project that began in 2020 in Montpellier, France, and has sold five million copies since its release in April.
The game itself is a turn-based RPG set in a post-apocalyptic universe that mirrors Belle Epoque Paris, complete with characters donning striped mariner shirts and red berets
Despite having a team of just 30 people for most of development, the game's emotional depth and rhythm-based combat allowed it to go toe-to-toe with massive blockbuster studios.
The title's cultural impact has even reached the Elysée Palace. French President Emmanuel Macron praised the team's "boldness and creativity", while plans are already in motion to bring the story to the big screen.
