Guillaume Broche believes the artistic value of video games also comes from their ability to exist as tangible objects that players can hold, collect, and genuinely feel they own. Although Sandfall Interactive’s leaders understand the commercial reasoning behind Sony’s decision, they still considered a physical edition of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 important enough to accept the additional costs and restrictions involved.

The games industry is still processing Sony’s announcement that the production of physical discs for new PlayStation releases will end in January 2028. The transition towards exclusively digital distribution has provoked considerable opposition from players who remain committed to boxed games, while numerous developers, studio executives, and other industry figures have publicly criticised the move. Sandfall Interactive, the studio responsible for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, has now joined that discussion without attempting to minimise what the disappearance of physical media would represent. Guillaume Broche argues that losing discs would amount to more than a commercial adjustment, as it would also diminish the collecting culture and sense of ownership surrounding video games.

The Expedition 33 Creators Discuss the End of PlayStation Discs

Speaking with Automaton, Sandfall Interactive CEO and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 director Guillaume Broche explained that he personally spends most of his gaming time on PC, although several members of the studio’s team play on PlayStation 5 and enthusiastically collect boxed releases. Visiting game shops and owning something tangible remain meaningful parts of gaming culture for Broche. “Personally, I find it very sad because I really like video game stores. And although these days I mainly play on PC, we have many people on the team who play on PS5 and love collecting physical discs,” he said. He added that part of the beauty of art lies in its ability to exist as something people can physically touch and keep.

Broche does not deny that he understands the commercial calculations behind Sony’s decision. Digital distribution removes manufacturing and shipping expenses while giving a platform holder greater control over pricing, availability, and the entire purchasing process. None of those advantages, however, changes his view that abandoning physical PlayStation releases is ultimately a sad development. To Broche, boxed games are not merely an inefficient sales channel, but objects connected to personal memories, carefully assembled collections, and a genuine feeling of possession.

Sandfall Interactive co-founder and technology director Tom Guillermin also revealed that producing a physical version of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 was far from effortless. A boxed launch introduced stricter deadlines because manufacturing had to begin well before the game’s release, forcing the studio to account for those requirements throughout development. “A physical release adds more restrictions because you have to factor in the production time for physical items, and you also earn less money per copy,” Guillermin explained. Despite those disadvantages, the team continued pursuing the physical edition because it regarded a version players could hold as something distinct from a purely downloadable product.

The developers believed Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 could become the kind of game that players would want to preserve as part of a physical collection. Lower margins and more complicated production were therefore not sufficient reasons to abandon the boxed version entirely. As players themselves, the studio’s leaders valued physical ownership, and after release they visited a video game shop together to purchase copies of their own creation. Guillermin described the trip primarily as a symbolic gesture, but it also demonstrated why the team had insisted on giving the RPG a physical release.

Source: 3DJuegos, Automaton