Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida has revealed that he advised the development team behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 to avoid promoting the title as a "turn-based RPG." According to Yoshida, the specific branding could discourage potential players from engaging with the game.

Yoshida shared this insight during a session at the Busan Indie Connect conference in South Korea, where he discussed strategies for developers pitching titles to publishers. His comments, reported by 4Gamer, centered on how publishers approach industry trends during the development cycle.

Yoshida distinguished between two types of publishers when it comes to market trends:

  • Late-stage publishers: Those who sign on for games that are nearly complete tend to be more concerned with current market trends.
  • Early-stage publishers: Those who join during the early phases of development are often less focused on fleeting trends, noting that a current trend may be obsolete by the time the game reaches the public.

While Yoshida’s advice to the Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 team highlights a strategic approach to marketing, the source does not detail whether the developers officially changed their communication strategy or how the game's core mechanics are being positioned in response to his feedback.