Bethesda Todd Howardthe boss of the Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, named his game of the year – this Chiaroscuro: Expedition 33.
“Expedition 33 is really unique and amazing,” Howard told Eurogamer social producer Matt Jones when asked about his Game of the Year pick before name checking. Death in Stranding 2 and Kingdom Come Deliverance 2.
“I think Expedition 33 is a truly unique piece of art in many ways,” he added, doubling down on his choice.
It's certainly a great choice, but it also ends a rivalry that started earlier this year. Bethesda has lost its shadow The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Update two days before Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, both also available on Xbox Game Pass.
But this did not disrupt the release of the 33rd expeditionAs Kepler's Senior Portfolio Director Matt Handrahan put it, “being close to Oblivion doesn't seem to have hurt us at all.” After all, both games represent the opposite Western and Japanese ends of the RPG spectrum.
33rd expedition sold over 5 million copies worldwide in all formats and is frontrunner at next week's The Game Awards with a record 12 nominations. So the game won more than just Howard's favor.
The game was also success of Xbox Game Pass as subscription service's biggest third-party release of the year.
Howard currently considers The Elder Scrolls 6 to be his “everyday thing.”but recently noted that this is “still a long way off.” In the same interview with Eurogamer he defends the use of AI, but seeks to “protect the artistry” in its games..
