Following Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 studio Sandfall’s statement yesterday that it was seeking a “fair solution” with the creator of graphic novel L’Académie Clair-Obscur after he received a lawyer’s letter ordering him to stop selling the book, Sandfall has taken to X again to say it’s dropping the case. “Sorry for dragging our feet in communicating,” reads the statement (via X’s translation feature). “The situation initiated by the legal representatives of our studio was new to us and complex to manage. We wanted to make sure we could discuss it with all the stakeholders to be certain we understood what was happening before sharing information with you.
(Image credit: Sandfall Interactive)
“Sandfall was working to withdraw the requests from our legal representative, which has now been done,” it continues. “Their role is to protect us in particular against counterfeit products, but the action initiated toward the comic book “L’Académie Clair-Obscur” published in January 2026 does not align with us”. Sandfall goes on to say that supporting artists and encouraging creativity are its “most important values”, and that it wishes creators Olivier Gray and Grelin every success. While the situation does leave me wondering whether Gay would have gotten the same result if he hadn’t taken to socials to air the situation, thus putting public pressure on the company’s reputation, I can’t deny that it’s a nice ending to the whole kerfuffle. Both parties seem satisfied, with Gay calling the resolution a “huge relief” and a “super move on the studio’s part”.I should also point out that Sandfall’s announcement came just a few hours after I wrote about their initial post. I’m 99% sure this was just a coincidence, but a small chance remains that I’m the arbiter of all things good and just on the planet, and my journalism literally saved both Clair Obscur brands. It’s fine, just send me a couple of those Esquie plushies.
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