Campaign 33 praised by the French President

French President Emmanuel Macron has praised Sandfall Interactive for its work Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 After the critically acclaimed RPG swept the Game Awards 2025. However, his message drew criticism from some fans, who recalled Macron's past comments blaming real-world violence on video games and accused him of manipulation. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33A historic victory to score political points.

In the lead up to the December 11 event, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Made history with 12 TGA 2025 nominations in 10 categories. It won nine of them, missing out only on Best Audio Design, which went away Battlefield 6. As such, Sandfall's turn-based RPG won 30% of all TGA 2025 awards, securing an unprecedented trip for a French product to the Los Angeles ceremony.

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10/10 GOTY Winner Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Just Shadow Dropped Brand-New Content You Can Play Now

Sandfall Interactive capped off an incredible run at The Game Awards 2025 by immediately announcing new content for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

French President Congratulates Sandfall After Claire Obscur: Campaign 33 Sweeps The Game Awards

In an Instagram post after the Dec. 11 event, Emmanuel Macron congratulated Sandfall Interactive on its sweep, calling it a “historic first” and “great pride for Montpellier and France.” This is not the first time a French president has accepted a laureate title; Macron has also praised Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 in early May 2025, after the game had already gained significant commercial momentum and critical acclaim.

While some Instagram users joined Macron in expressing congratulations and national pride, others questioned the sincerity of his comments. Among the most liked responses to his Dec. 12 post was a reference to a July 2023 press conference in which the French president controversially accused video games of inciting real-world violence. That statement was part of Macron's comments on the widespread riots that erupted after the June 2023 police killing of Nahel Marzok, a 17-year-old French national of Algerian and Moroccan descent, who was shot at point-blank range during a routine traffic stop. The killing sparked protests in Paris, with protesters accusing the police.

“Sometimes it seems that some of them, in the streets, are experiencing video games that have intoxicated them,” Macron said at the 2023 press conference, referring to the rioters. He later walked back that comment, stating that he was not trying to criticize the industry as a whole. “Video games are a culture, a pastime, a spectacle,” the head of France said in September 2023, criticizing the gamification of violence rather than just the medium. However, some Instagram users continued to reference her earlier comments accusing her of using them Clair Obscur: Expedition 33It is a success of scoring political points rather than giving a sincere message of support.

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The “historic first” label Macron used to describe Sandfall Interactive's debut title is accurate in more ways than one. As well as becoming the first French sport to win the top honor at the ceremony, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 broke the five-year-old record set by The Last of Us Part 2Earning the distinction of having the most awarded matches in TGA history with nine wins. At the December 11 event, Sandfall Shadows dropped the previously announced free DLC for the game, adding a new location called Verso's Drafts and an expansive photo mode among many other innovations.

issued

April 24, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ / Blood and gore, strong language, suggestive themes, violence

developer(s)

Sandfall Interactive

Publisher(s)

Kepler Interactive