Publisher Kepler Interactive has said that the surprise release of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered did not do anything to harm the launch of its own Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. 

Speaking to The Games Business, the publisher's senior portfolio director Matt Handrahan said that if anything, the eagerly-awaited and long-rumoured Bethesda remaster brought attention to the role-playing game space. That being said, he added that there were also a lot of things going in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's favour already. 

“We always knew that Expedition 33 had a very specific identity,” Handrahan said. 

“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.

“Also, by the time that we rolled around, we had momentum of our own and we felt pretty confident that we could stand beside it. I think there were other aspects, like the price point we were at and the inclusion in Game Pass… so we knew we would have a lot of interest around the game. We were confident in that. And it went as well as it possibly could have done in our eyes. And, actually, proximity to Oblivion didn't seem to harm us at all. In many ways, I think it just drew attention to quality RPGs that week and everybody was thinking and talking about the genre.”

The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered was the highest-grossing game on Steam during its first week on sale, while Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 took the No.3 spot.