Sandfall Interactive Drops Legal Case Against "L'Académie Clair-Obscur" Graphic Novel Creator

Image credit: Olivier Gay / Sandfall Interactive

Sandfall Interactive has officially withdrawn its legal action against Olivier Gay, the creator of the graphic novel "L'Académie Clair-Obscur."

It all started when Gay publicly revealed on March 6 that he had received a lawyer's letter from representatives of Sandfall Interactive, the studio behind Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.

The letter demanded he stop selling his graphic novel, claiming it was "supposedly riding on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33's undeniable success" due to the similarity in titles.

Gay was quick to deny the claims, calling the name overlap an "unpleasant coincidence." He explained that the idea for the comic had been pitched as far back as 2019, and that he had signed a contract using the Clair-Obscur name in March 2024, well over a year before Expedition 33 launched.

According to Gay, the comic follows the story of a peasant joining an elite magic school and bears no narrative connection to the game's post-apocalyptic fantasy world.

He also mentioned that he had previously played and recommended Expedition 33, making the whole situation feel even more uncomfortable for him personally.

As the story began spreading online, Gay stated he had "neither the energy nor the money to engage in a legal battle" and was even willing to continue publishing under a different name if it came to that.

The situation caught Sandfall's attention fairly quickly. The studio responded on March 9 with a brief statement confirming it was in contact with Gay and his publisher, and that it was working toward "a fair solution for everyone."

Then came the resolution. According to Sandfall's follow-up post on March 10, the studio confirmed it had withdrawn all claims made by its legal representatives. "Sandfall was working to withdraw the claims from our legal representative, which has now been done. Their role is to protect us, particularly against counterfeit products, but the action initiated against the comic book 'L'Académie Clair-Obscur' published in January 2026 is not in line with our wishes," the studio wrote.

"We have always wanted to support artists and encourage creativity, and that’s one of the most important values we want to defend at Sandfall. We wish Olivier and Grelin every success with their comic book."

Gay, for his part, responded positively. He called the outcome a "huge relief" and praised it as a "super move on the studio's part," indicating that there are no lingering hard feelings between the two sides.