Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Baldur’s Gate 3 – Why Indie Passion Beats Big Publisher Playbooks

I’ll be honest: when David Gaider, the narrative force behind Dragon Age’s golden age, says a new RPG could do for J-RPGs what Baldur’s Gate 3 did for C-RPGs, I perk up. Not just because Gaider knows his stuff, but because “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” is a name that’s been quietly building buzz in hardcore circles. Gaider’s comparison isn’t just high praise-it’s an industry pulse check on how the best RPGs are being made right now, far from the world of risk-averse publishing giants.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 vs. Baldur’s Gate 3 – How Small Studios Are Redefining RPGs

Watch the official trailer for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33:

Key Takeaways

• Indie publishers like Kepler Interactive are enabling bold, genre-defining RPGs that big publishers wouldn’t touch.
• Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is aiming to J-RPGs what Baldur’s Gate 3 did for C-RPGs-bring niche design to a broader audience.
• Long, iterative development (often impossible under big publishers) pays off in quality and authenticity for RPGs.
• Major publishers still underestimate market size and passion for in-depth RPG experiences, despite recent smash hits.

Let’s talk about why Gaider’s comments actually matter. He said that “Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is to J-RPGs what Baldur’s Gate 3 is to C-RPGs”—not as a slight to classic J-RPGs, but as a recognition that both games are passion projects that bring hardcore genre DNA to a new, wider audience. Think about what BG3 did: three years in early access, community-driven iteration, and zero corporate meddling. The result? A headline RPG that outsold most publisher-backed blockbusters, and walked away with Game of the Year. No wonder Gaider sees the same energy in Sandfall Interactive’s upcoming opus.

Clair Obscur’s journey has a lot in common with Larian’s: repeated delays, relentless polish, and a publisher (Kepler) that’s more a collective of studios than a top-down overlord. According to Sandfall studio head Guillaume Broche, this setup gave the team room to refine their vision without the usual “quarterly results” treadmill. In an industry where giants like EA run focus groups to “prove” that only 5 million people care about RPGs (lol, tell that to the 15+ million who bought BG3), indie collectives are quietly rewriting the playbook.

Here’s what Gaider’s really getting at: big publishers are terrified of risk, so they water down their RPGs for “mass appeal.” But when indie studios double down on their niche—building games that are love letters to genre diehards—they often end up making something so good, the mainstream can’t ignore it. That’s what happened with Larian and BG3, and it’s what Sandfall is hoping for with Clair Obscur. The difference? The smaller publishers actually listen, iterate, and invest time, not just money.

Why Should Gamers Care?

If you’re the kind of player who loves to lose a hundred hours in complex systems, layered stories, and unapologetically “nerdy” mechanics, this is the best time to be an RPG fan in decades. The success of BG3 and rising hype for games like Clair Obscur send a clear message: the audience for ambitious, genre-pure RPGs is bigger—and more passionate—than the old guard ever believed. And indie publishers are finally giving these games the runway they need.

That’s great for gamers, but it’s also a warning to the EAs and Ubisofts of the world: stop treating RPGs like a marketing experiment, and start trusting creators. Otherwise, you’ll keep getting lapped by passionate teams who know what makes these genres tick.

TL;DR

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 could be the next BG3-style breakthrough—not because of corporate strategy, but because indie publishers let passionate devs cook. If you care about the future of RPGs, keep an eye on the studios that are willing to take real risks, not just chase trends.

Source: Kepler Interactive via GamesPress