In a gaming landscape overflowing with new releases, it’s easy for even standout titles to get swept up in the torrent of fresh content. With the sheer volume of games launching each month, visibility can be a real challenge—even for those backed by well-known developers. But instead of viewing each other as competition, the creative leads behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy are choosing collaboration and mutual respect, encouraging fans to experience both games.
Kazutaka Kodaka, best known as the creator of the Danganronpa series and one of the directors behind The Hundred Line, recently took to social media to show appreciation for players engaging with his latest work. However, he didn’t stop there. Kodaka also gave a shoutout to Expedition 33, describing it as a game worthy of attention for fans of traditional RPGs. In a playful and warm message, he suggested that once players finish Expedition 33, they should come back to his game, which he humorously described as a Japanese cult title just waiting to be discovered.
Further elaborating on his admiration, Kodaka highlighted how Expedition 33 pays homage to the classic JRPG formula while his own title offers a fresh spin on the visual novel and strategy RPG genres. His message to fans was simple: both games bring something special to the table, so why not enjoy both?
The praise didn’t go unnoticed. Sandfall Interactive, the team behind Expedition 33, responded in kind. Creative Director Guillaume Broche expressed his appreciation, returning the gesture by recommending The Hundred Line to players looking for another engaging turn-based RPG experience. Broche noted how both games launched in the same week and acknowledged the difficulty of standing out in such a competitive release window, calling attention to how fortunate it is to have multiple well-crafted RPGs available to fans at once.
Kodaka chimed in once more, thanking Broche and reinforcing his excitement about the cross-promotion. He emphasized that now is a particularly exciting time for fans of the genre, as unique and innovative RPGs like Expedition 33 are pushing boundaries and redefining what players can expect.
This kind of creator-to-creator support is refreshing, especially in an industry often dominated by competition and market pressure. With thousands of games launching annually—over 6,000 so far in 2025 according to SteamDB, and more than 18,000 released just last year—breaking through the noise is no small feat. Ongoing live-service titles with their regular content updates only add to the competition for players’ time and attention.
Against this backdrop, it’s genuinely uplifting to see two developers supporting one another and encouraging audiences to move between their games. Rather than treating each other as rivals, they’re treating the RPG space as a shared creative endeavor, where fans can—and should—experience multiple stories and styles.
Both games are currently available. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 can be played on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, while The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is out on PC and Nintendo Switch. Whether you’ve just wrapped up one or are considering which RPG to dive into next, it might be worth taking these developers’ advice—there’s room for both in your library.
