Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Gets a Release Date – IGN

During today’s Xbox Developer Direct, we got another look at upcoming Xbox RPG Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 along with a release date of April 24, 2025.

In a new trailer, we got more info on the game’s story, which we’re told doesn’t focus on good vs. evil. Rather it focuses on a group of complicated, messy people who all are brought together to defeat that which is a threat to all of them. There’s a focus on the relationship between the characters, and while it can get introspective, there are also NPCs whose stories and mechanics are somewhat lighter.

As we’ve seen in past trailers, the UI and battle menus are exceptionally stylish, channeling Persona a bit in their big energy. And we also got a look at unique character mechanics and customization via skill tree in the trailer, and what seems to be a massive colletion of possible equippable passive effects.

It was also revealed that Clair Obscur will follow in the steps of old-school RPGs and have an actual, navigable world map from which you can access various areas and towns. That’s a heck of a nostalgia play.

Clair Obscur was first announced last summer at the Xbox Games Showcase from Sandfall Interactive and came as a complete surprise to most. It takes place in a world where an entity known as the Paintress “repaints” the world each year, during which time she also paints a cursed number on a monolith that causes everyone of that age and older to turn to smoke instantly and disappear. Every year, that number ticks down by one, with younger and younger generations dying each time. With the number “33” up next, a group of individuals led by a man named Gustave sets out to try and stop the Paintress once and for all in a turn-based RPG with incredibly stylish battles.

You can catch up on everything shown in today’s Xbox Developer Direct right here.

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