Epic Games Japan and Sandfall Interactive recently hosted a Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 postmortem event in Yokohama, Japan, where the developers shared technical insights into the making of 2025’s Game of the Year. Following the event, AUTOMATON sat down with the team and took the opportunity to ask about their thoughts on physical game releases. With PlayStation set to end game disc production in 2028, the developers briefly reflected on why they insisted on releasing Expedition 33 physically despite the added challenges, and discussed why they believe physical editions remain important to video games as a medium.  

Participants are as follows: 

Guillaume Broche – Sandfall Interactive CEO and Creative Director  
Tom Guillermin – Sandfall Interactive Co-founder and CTO  
Alan Reynaud – Lead Character and Concept Artist)
Alexandre Breton – Technical Artist 

For more about Sandfall Interactive’s Japanese influences, thoughts on Unreal Engine, and studio upsizing, check out part one of this interview. 

Knowing there might not be a next physical release makes me sad 

—PlayStation recently announced that it will end physical disk production in 2028. What are your thoughts on that?  

Guillaume Broche: Personally, I find it super sad because I really like video game stores. And even if nowadays, I play mainly on PC myself, we have a lot of people on the team who play on PS5 and love to collect physical discs. I think it’s part of the beauty of art too – that it’s something tangible that you can touch. I completely appreciate that people want to have their rows of DVDs and games and just feel that they own them. So I think it’s a shame. I mean, business-wise, I can understand why it may make sense, but I think in terms of the artistry of video games, it’s a sad decision. 

Tom Guillermin: In our discussions with our publisher prior to the release of Expedition 33, the question of whether or not to do a physical release cropped up. A physical release adds more constraints because you have to account for the production time of the physical items, and you also earn less money per copy. 

But for us, physical was something special. We also felt that the game could be special to players, and that they would want to, as Guillaume said, hold it in their hands. 

So even though it made things harder and meant less money per unit, it was important for us to provide players who want to have the physical game in their hands with an option. Because that’s what we value as players too. 

 Guillaume Broche: To add to that, there were two very strong moments when the game released. After launch, we went to a video game store to buy our own game (laughs). Just as a gesture. And another strong memory I have is when someone from Japan sent me a picture [of our game] from a video game store – in Akihabara I think – in Japanese writing and all. I felt like a kid when I saw it. I was like “Yeah, it’s real!” It starts feeling real when you see it in stores. 
 
Alan Reynaud: Even now when I’m going to the supermarket or something, if I see our game in a store, it always makes my day. It’s a bit selfish, because it’s our game, but it always makes me go “Oh!”  

Knowing that may not be possible again makes me a bit sad. And maybe it’s the child in me, but I like to go outside, buy a game, and come back home with it. It’s a nice feeling. 

Alexandre Breton: And it’s not just because it’s “our game.” I think what’s cool [about physical games in general] is that a few years later, you’ll have your box, and you can hold it and look at the title and remember all the memories that are linked to the game. 

Alan Reynaud: I think the same principle can apply to manga. It’s nice to read on your phone and stuff, but having a real book is just a different feeling. And I don’t think we could imagine a world where manga is just scanned and stored on your computer. It would be sad to not have it in your library. I think the same applies for games. Sure, it makes more sense business-wise, but you lose the spirit of it. 

—Thank you for your time! 

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is available for PC (Steam), PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.