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Google searches for a French swear word rose around Clair Obscur: Expedition 33’s April 2025 launch, according to a May 2025 report. That is a narrow signal of search interest—not proof that people spoke or wrote more French profanity, or that the game caused the increase.
What the reported search data shows
A May 19, 2025 report says U.S. Google searches for one French swear-word query increased after Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 launched on April 24, with the query reaching a reported peak between April 27 and May 3. The article does not identify the word or provide raw search volumes, so neither can be established from that account. Outrun Gaming’s report attributes its figures to Google Trends; the original comparison was not available for independent verification.
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| 1 |
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Clair Obscur Expedition 33 PS5 | $45.00 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (PS5) | $41.74 | Buy on Amazon |
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The Art of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | $55.91 | Buy on Amazon |
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Deluxe Edition - PC Steam [Online Game Code] | $59.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Original Soundtrack) | $42.39 | Buy on Amazon |
Google Trends’ Interest Over Time scores are normalized within a selected comparison: 100 marks the highest relative interest in that comparison, not a number of searches. The same report describes other U.S. searches reaching 30-day highs around launch:
| Query | Reported date and result | What the figure means |
|---|---|---|
| “patate” | April 24, 2025: score of 100 | Highest relative interest in the comparison, not 100 searches. |
| “gommage” | April 27, 2025: reported peak | The report gives no absolute search count. |
| France | April 28, 2025: reported peak | The report gives no absolute search count. |
| “learn French” | April 30, 2025: reported peak | The report gives no absolute search count. |
The report also describes searches for “belle époque france” as up 1,250%, but does not provide enough methodological detail to treat that percentage as a durable or causal estimate. These are reported search-interest patterns, not measurements of how often people used French words in conversation or writing.
#1 Best Overall
- Reactive Turn-based Combat: Craft unique builds for your Expeditioners that fit your playstyle via gear, stats, skills, and &character synergies
- Dodge, parry, and counter in real time, chain combos by mastering attack rhythms, and target enemy weak points using a free aim system
- With only one year left to live, join Gustave, Maelle, & fellow Expeditioners as they embark on a desperate quest to break Paintress’ cycle of death
- Explore an enchanting realm populated by adversaries; Wander through breathtaking landscapes, from Island of Visages to the Forgotten Battlefield
- Experience the debut game from Sandfall Interactive, fully realized in Unreal Engine 5 with stunning graphics and a heartbreaking soundtrack
Did the game make people swear more in French?
The evidence does not establish that. A rise in searches around a release is a timing association; by itself, it cannot show that the game caused the rise. More importantly, search activity and actual profanity use are different things. No before-and-after dataset of spoken or written French swear-word use is provided in the reporting.
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a game developed by French studio Sandfall Interactive and published by Kepler Interactive. A separate May 6, 2025 report said it had sold over 2 million copies in its first 12 days. That is a historical sales milestone, not a current total, and it does not demonstrate a change in language use. Outrun Gaming reported the milestone.
Rank #2
- Reactive Turn-based Combat - In this evolution of JRPGs, real-time actions enhance the heart of turn-based combat. Build your party and level up six characters. Craft unique builds for your expeditioners that fit your playstyle via gear, stats, skills, and character synergies. Open an active dimension in combat - dodge, parry, and counter in real time, chain combos by mastering attack rhythms, and target enemy weak points using a free-aim system.
- “Tomorrow Comes” - With only one year left to live, join Gustave, Maelle, and their fellow Expeditioners as they embark upon a desperate quest to break the Paintress’ cycle of death. Follow the trail of previous expeditions and discover their fate. Get to know the members of Expedition 33 as they learn to work together against impossible odds.
- A Hauntingly Beautiful World - Explore an enchanting realm populated by surreal adversaries. Wander through breathtaking landscapes, from the Island of Visages to the Forgotten Battlefield, discovering secrets and hidden quests along the way. Find allies of fortune in creatures of legend and recruit a special companion who can access new travel methods and secret areas in the World Map.
- Experience the debut game from Sandfall Interactive, fully realized in Unreal Engine 5 with stunning graphics and a heartbreaking soundtrack.
- European/ UK version
What linguistics can—and cannot—add
A 2024 University of Lille dissertation compared sound patterns in sampled French swear words and regular French words. It found that 62.8% of sampled swear words and 46.5% of sampled regular words contained at least one consonant from the study’s low-sonority group. Those percentages describe features of the words in that sample; they say nothing about how often people swear or whether a video game changes that frequency. The dissertation also notes limitations in its fictional French swear-word sample and a non-significant tendency in that sample. Read the University of Lille dissertation.
Research on profanity in online consumer reviews is likewise a different question. A 2022 Journal of Marketing Research paper by Katherine C. Lafreniere, Sarah G. Moore, and Robert J. Fisher reports field datasets and experiments finding that swear words can affect perceived helpfulness and product attitudes, depending in part on their number and style. It is not evidence about the game or French-language use. Read the paper.
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Best Value
Rank #4
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a ground-breaking turn-based RPG with unique real-time mechanics, making battles more immersive and addictive than ever.
- Explore a fantasy world inspired by Belle Époque France in which you battle devastating enemies.
Rank #3
How to read the headline
- Supported narrowly: a 2025 report says U.S. searches for an unnamed French swear-word query rose around the game’s launch.
- Not established: whether people actually used French profanity more, who did so, or whether the game caused any change.
- Not disclosed in the report: the swear-word query itself and raw search volumes.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
