The team at Sandfall Interactive got a notification they definitely weren’t expecting this week: the French Ministry of Culture knighted them. Yes, you read that right.
The entire development team behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has been awarded the Order of Arts and Letters, one of France’s highest cultural distinctions, becoming the first complete studio in gaming history to receive this honor collectively.
On February 5, French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati officially appointed 28 members of Sandfall Interactive as Chevaliers, Knights, of the Order of Arts and Letters during a ceremony celebrating their game. The recognition includes founders Guillaume Broche, Tom Guillermin, and François Meurisse, along with roughly 25 team members who shaped this dark fantasy RPG that’s been breaking records left and right since its April 2025 release.
“From Expeditioners to Knights!” the studio announced on LinkedIn. “We were received yesterday at the Ministry of Culture to celebrate our game. This distinction honors us, and our deepest thanks go especially to our team who shaped this world and to the millions of players who have brought it to life.”
Video games hit cultural milestone
The Order of Arts and Letters was established in 1957 to recognize significant contributions to arts, literature, and culture. Only 200 people worldwide receive this honor annually, making it exceptionally rare.
While individual game creators like Super Mario’s Shigeru Miyamoto, Rayman’s Michel Ancel, and Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma have been knighted in the past, Sandfall Interactive marks the first time an entire development studio has been collectively recognized with this distinction.
Minister Dati praised the team’s achievement as “an exceptional decoration for an exceptional success,” emphasizing that video games have reached a new level of recognition as a legitimate art form and essential cultural industry.
French President Emmanuel Macron publicly congratulated the developers back in May, calling the game “a source of great pride for Montpellier and for France.”
From 6 developers to gaming royalty
Sandfall Interactive’s journey reads like something out of their own game. Guillaume Broche started imagining Clair Obscur late at night in his free time while working at Ubisoft, eventually leaving during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to form the studio with friends.
The team started with just six developers, grew to 15, and eventually expanded to around 30 members. For most of them, Expedition 33 is the first game they’ve worked on, talk about a hell of a debut.
The game has become a phenomenon, selling over 5 million copies by October 2025 and setting an all-time record at The Game Awards with nine wins out of 13 nominations, including Game of the Year.
It currently holds 436 Game of the Year awards, officially surpassing powerhouses like Elden Ring and Baldur’s Gate 3 as the most awarded game ever made.
What makes this recognition even more significant is the timing. At a time when the gaming industry is navigating layoffs and budget cuts, a relatively small French studio working on a modest budget achieved what massive AAA studios dream of, restoring confidence and energy to the entire sector.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and was a day-one release on Xbox Game Pass.
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