French President publicly congratulates Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, calling the Game of The Year win “a historic first”

French President Emmanuel Macron has once again publicly congratulated Sandfall Interactive for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, this time for securing a record-breaking nine wins at The Game Awards earlier this week.

“Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has just been named Game of the Year in Los Angeles. A historic first for a French title!” Macron announced on Instagram.

“Great pride for Montpellier and for France. Congratulations to the Sandfall Interactive team. For future generations and those that follow!”

Some commenters, however, have taken the opportunity to remind the President that he once suggested video games had “poisoned” the minds of young people during the 2023 riots, although shortly thereafter, Macron did clarify his position, insisting he only said that because ” video game codes had been used by offenders to trivialise violence on social networks”, adding: “it is this violence that I condemn, not video games.

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“Video games are a culture, an entertainment, a spectacle! They are a ground for artistic experimentation, a fascinating learning space, mixing all the arts,” he said at the time. “Playing means listening to music, immersing yourself in stories, feeling emotions, travelling through time. It is exploring visual universes that write a new chapter in the history of art.”

French President Emmanuel Macron also congratulated Sandfall Interactive back in May, calling its RPG a “shining example of French audacity and creativity”.

All in all, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 had a pretty fantastic night, taking home not only the coveted Game of the Year gong, but eight other awards too. It won best narrative, best score and music, best art direction, and best game direction, and was named best RPG, best independent game, and best debut indie game too. Additionally, Jennifer English’s turn as Maelle was named best performance.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 wasn’t the only winner on the night, of course. Hades 2 won best action game, while Hollow Knight: Silksong walked away with the best action-adventure prize.