Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida once advised the developers of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 not to market the game as a turn-based RPG. Speaking at the Busan Indie Connect Festival in 2026, Yoshida recalled warning the team that the label alone could cause some players to dismiss the game before giving it a chance.
Yoshida played an early demo of the game roughly two years before its release while working in an advisory role with publisher Kepler Interactive. He was impressed by the combat, which combines traditional turn-based structure with real-time timing elements for dodges, parries, and counters. He compared the system favorably to The Legend of Dragoon, a game he produced during his time at Sony.
Despite his enthusiasm, Yoshida believed the broader perception of turn-based JRPGs at the time worked against the project. “It’s incredibly well-made, but it would be better not to call it a turn-based RPG,” he said. "That alone might cause players to overlook it."
Sandfall Interactive and Kepler took the advice to heart. In marketing materials the game was frequently described as featuring "reactive turn-based battles" rather than simply a turn-based RPG. The phrasing emphasized the active, timing-based layer that sets the combat apart from more traditional implementations of the genre.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 went on to become one of the most successful debut RPGs in recent years, earning widespread critical praise and strong sales. Its combat system, which rewards precise defensive inputs during enemy turns while still allowing strategic planning on the player’s turn, has been singled out as a major reason for its appeal. Many players who might have skipped a conventional turn-based RPG engaged with the game because of how the battles actually played.
Yoshida shared the anecdote as part of a broader discussion about how indie developers should pitch their games to publishers and present them to audiences. His point was that genre labels carry assumptions, and sometimes those assumptions can limit a game’s reach even when the underlying design is strong. In the case of Expedition 33, adjusting the language helped frame the combat as something more dynamic and modern without changing the systems themselves.
The story also reflects how perceptions of turn-based games have shifted. What was viewed as potentially outdated a few years ago has seen renewed interest, partly because of titles like Expedition 33 that prove the style still has room to evolve. Yoshida’s advice captured a specific moment in the market. The game’s later success suggests the caution was understandable at the time, even if the final result showed there was a sizable audience ready for a well-executed take on the genre.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 stands as a clear example of a project that benefited from careful positioning. By avoiding a label that some players associated with slower or more traditional experiences, the team gave the game a better chance to be judged on its actual combat and presentation rather than preconceptions about the genre.
What are your thoughts on the comment and advice? Do you think it paid off for them? Did it really matter? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!