"Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Publisher Praises Oblivion Remastered for Boosting RPG Visibility"

When Bethesda shadow-dropped The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered amid the launch of the fellow role-playing game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, many expected that one game would overshadow the other. However, Kepler Interactive's senior portfolio manager, Matt Handrahan, told The Game Business that not only did Oblivion not harm Clair Obscur, but it actually boosted the excitement for the RPG genre, benefiting Clair Obscur in the process.

To provide some context, RPG fans faced a challenging decision: diving into the hundreds of hours of gameplay in Oblivion's Cyrodiil or embarking on an expedition to defeat the Paintress in Clair Obscur. The simultaneous launch of these two games sparked both excitement and frustration among fans, as well as a playful remark from Kepler Interactive itself.

On X/Twitter, Kepler shared an edited image of Clair Obscur characters entering an Oblivion Gate, accompanied by the text "omg its like barbenheimer," humorously referencing the simultaneous release of the films Barbie and Oppenheimer in theaters in 2023.

omg its like barbenheimer pic.twitter.com/TN1AFzdggc

— Kepler Interactive (@Kepler_Interact) April 22, 2025

Microsoft, which owns Bethesda and had heavily supported Clair Obscur since its reveal at an Xbox Showcase the previous year, faced criticism for shadow-dropping Oblivion on the same day as Clair Obscur, especially since both games were available as Game Pass day-one titles.

However, Handrahan remained confident. "We always knew that Expedition 33 had a very specific identity," he explained. "When I was in the press, I saw the Western-style RPG and the Japanese-style RPG as having quite different appeals and audiences. I knew plenty of people that would play an Elder Scrolls game that wouldn't necessarily play Final Fantasy and vice versa.

"By the time we launched, we had built our own momentum, and we felt confident we could stand alongside Oblivion. Factors like our pricing strategy and inclusion in Game Pass helped us believe we would capture significant interest. And it worked out as well as we could have hoped. In fact, the proximity to Oblivion didn't hurt us at all. Instead, it seemed to draw more attention to quality RPGs that week, keeping the genre at the forefront of everyone's mind."

Bethesda reported that Oblivion Remastered attracted over 4 million players since its launch, although sales figures have not been disclosed. It, too, has seen significant concurrent player numbers on Steam.

The Game Business cited data from Ampere showing that 35% of Clair Obscur players also played Oblivion Remastered, indicating a notable overlap. This overlap is largely attributed to both games being available on Game Pass, with the percentage decreasing for Steam and PlayStation 5 players.

We also offer a comprehensive guide to Oblivion Remastered, featuring an expansive [ttpp]Interactive Map[ttpp], complete Walkthroughs for the [ttpp]Main Questline[ttpp] and every [ttpp]Guild Quest[ttpp], [ttpp]How to Build the Perfect Character[ttpp], [ttpp]Things to Do First[ttpp], every [ttpp]PC Cheat Code[ttpp], and much more.

For Clair Obscur, make sure to [ttpp]check out our tips for the important things to know before heading into the game[ttpp].