“A Great Deal” Expedition 33 Publisher Reveals Why the Game is So Cheap

Gaming has never been a cheap hobby, but recent economic turmoil due to AI data centers has created a RAM shortage, often known as the RAM crisis, that is only making gaming hardware more expensive. Reports indicate that the Nintendo Switch 2 could see a price hike by the end of 2026, as just one example. But video games themselves have only gotten more expensive in recent years, which made the price of Expedition 33 (which went on a generational run in Game Awards shows) all the more surprising.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is priced at $49.99, while most major AAA games are priced at $69.99 for standard editions (with more expensive offerings stacked on top). Some games, such as Nintendo’s Mario Kart World, have gone even higher to $79.99. At the same time, much cheaper and equally time-consuming habits (such as scrolling on TikTok) have seen gamers spend their time elsewhere. This is the world that Expedition 33 released in at a cheaper-than-AAA price, and publisher Kepler Interactive recently addressed this pricing strategy in an interview.

Why Expedition 33 Was Priced So Cheaply (In Comparison to AAA Games)

In an interview with the BBC (via Wccftech), Kepler Interactive CEO Alexis Garavaryan discussed how the company prices games. First, it’s worth reiterating that Expedition 33 was made by a much smaller team than most AAA games. With a budget of less than $10 million, according to developer Sandfall Interactive, this approach allowed a core team of 33 developers (with plenty of supporting devs) to make the critically acclaimed darling. Indeed, Expedition 33 resonated well with players and critics, and that’s reflected commercially and critically. Still, Kepler could have given it a standard price if the publisher wanted to.

Instead, as Garavaryan explained, the company took the “opposite action” of what most publishers have done. He explained that the publisher’s method of pricing involves the company deciding what it thinks the price should be and then pricing it “lower so that when players buy a game from us, they feel like they’re getting a bargain.” The reason why, from a business standpoint, is entirely optics (but in the good way). Garavaryan said that “we want [players] to feel like we are respectful of their money, respectful of their time,” and that “every time they buy a game from us, they’re getting a great deal.”

As Garavaryan concluded,

Kepler Interactive is a Publisher to Watch in a Changing Industry

Garavaryan’s comments on Expedition 33 are no doubt music to many ears. Indeed, Expedition 33 is a great deal, which is only compounded by the fact that it’s one of the best games of 2025. These remarks are also made during an incredibly challenging time for the game industry.

Because of the loss of funding and the rise of generative AI, among many, many other reasons, the game industry is changing financially, in headcount, and in company directions. These issues have their roots in a plethora of recent changes in the industry, from Phil Spencer’s retirement to Sony’s decision to shutter Bluepoint Games. No one has proven safe from this squeeze, and it’s hard to say what the industry will look like in another year or two, should things not somehow change for the better. But while a lot of companies will say they do it for the players, it seems like Kepler Interactive is putting its money where its mouth is. It could have sold Expedition 33 at a higher cost, but that’s not what players needed in the year 2025.