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In the gaming industry, team size, production speed, and the role of AI technology are becoming three variables that directly shape how studios build brands, optimize costs, and maintain creative quality. Hideo Kojima’s recent remarks about a successful indie title have raised a particularly interesting question for Vietnamese marketers: small can be a competitive advantage if the brand story is clear and convincing enough.
From the case of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, it is clear that the public is not only interested in the final product but is also drawn into how that product was made. This is a useful perspective for brand builders, because the “behind-the-scenes story” can sometimes be a communications asset as powerful as the product itself.
Kojima sees small teams as the “ideal model”
According to TOY PEOPLE, Hideo Kojima praised Sandfall Interactive’s Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 during a media exchange. He said his ideal development model is a small, agile team, and he emphasized it in a highly metaphorical way: “just 33 people and a dog.”
The key point is not the exact number, but the way Kojima contrasts a lean studio with the reality of modern game projects that keep growing larger. He said Kojima Productions has now surpassed 200 employees, yet he still leans toward a more streamlined creative process, one that prioritizes fast feedback and quick decision-making.
This message is especially worth reflecting on for brands and agencies: larger scale does not automatically mean greater creative efficiency. The more layers of approval a process has, the harder it becomes to maintain consistency, personality, and a strong product launch rhythm.
“Clair Obscur: Expedition 33” succeeded because of quality, not just the small-team story
TOY PEOPLE reported that the game received very high ratings across multiple platforms, with a Metacritic score of 93 on PS5 and 91 on both Xbox Series X/S and PC. The title also sold more than one million copies in its first three days on the market, and it received congratulations from French President Emmanuel Macron, who called it proof of France’s creativity and boldness.
This is a classic example of how a product can break through by combining professional quality with the right communications story. In an increasingly saturated market, users are not just buying “a good game” but also an experience, an inspiration, and a sense of sharing in the creative journey of the team behind it.
That said, the original article also notes that the “33-person team” narrative should be understood correctly. Some opinions suggest that the main credits list only around 30–40 core members, but the project still relied on many outsourced contributors for animation, QA, and motion capture. In other words, it is a smaller project than the traditional AAA standard, but not literally one made entirely by exactly 30 people.
AI is making the game industry “overloaded” with content
On the other side, the source content also quoted Mike Rose, founder of No More Robots, on the spread of generative AI in the game industry. Rose sees it as a Pandora’s box that has already been opened: even if many people dislike it, the technology will still be widely used because it helps shorten production time.
According to Rose, competitive pressure on Steam is rising sharply as the number of games released each year is already very large. He said that at a recent Steam Next Fest event, about one-third of the demos showed signs of using AI-generated key visuals or content. This makes the market more crowded and makes it harder to tell which products have real depth and which are merely “things that look like games.”
Rose also believes AI-generated visuals often reveal an “unnatural” feel that players can easily spot and that may trigger a backlash. He pointed to cases such as Crimson Desert and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as examples showing how controversy over AI can force developers to adjust content or their communications approach.
The core message here is that AI is not only a productivity tool, but also a variable that changes market expectations. When everyone can create faster, the competitive advantage shifts from “being able to make it” to “making it well, making it different, and making it for a reason.”
A perspective for the Vietnamese market
For Vietnamese businesses and marketers, this story offers three practical lessons. First, a small team is not a weakness if the brand has a clear positioning, an agile workflow, and the ability to tell a compelling story. Second, sustainable communications success usually comes from output quality combined with a behind-the-scenes story that feels credible. Third, AI can help optimize costs and speed, but if it is overused or strips away the human touch, a brand can easily lose customer trust.
As digital content becomes increasingly dense, Vietnamese brands should see AI as a support tool rather than a replacement for creative thinking. The long-term difference still lies in strategic perspective, brand emotion, and the ability to create an experience that users remember.
Looking at Kojima’s story and the wave of debate around AI, it is clear that the market is entering a phase where speed alone is no longer enough. What users value is a product with identity, with people behind it, and with a clear reason to exist.
References: TOY PEOPLE (citing Dexerto, GamesRadar+).
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