Shuhei Yoshida advised Expedition 33 devs to avoid calling it a turn‑based RPG

Former PlayStation executive Shuhei Yoshida has revealed that he advised the developers of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 not to describe the game as a turn‑based RPG, citing the negative stigma surrounding traditional JRPG combat systems during the 2010s.

As reported by Automaton, Yoshida discussed the topic during a lecture at the Busan Indie Connect Festival 2026. While consulting for publisher Kepler Interactive, he played an early demo of Expedition 33 and was impressed by its blend of turn‑based mechanics and real‑time inputs reminiscent of The Legend of Dragoon. Despite this, he warned the team that branding it as a turn‑based JRPG could cause players to overlook it.

Yoshida’s comments reflect a period when many Japanese studios shifted away from turn‑based combat in favour of action‑focused systems, believing the former to be outdated. However, turn‑based games have seen a notable resurgence in recent years. The Yakuza series famously embraced turn‑based combat with Yakuza 7, Pokémon has maintained its popularity with traditional turn‑based battles, and Baldur's Gate 3 was the biggest game of 2023, which also used a turn-based combat system. There is clearly still a big market for turn-based games, particularly if they are done well, and Expedition 33 ultimately did tap into that market, becoming the recipient of many GOTY awards in 2025.

Following Expedition 33’s success, Yoshida says publishers are now receiving a steady stream of pitches for turn‑based RPGs, so it would seem that there is still plenty of life left in the turn-based RPG genre. Later this year, Square Enix itself will be embracing turn-based combat once again, with the very first turn-based Final Fantasy game since Final Fantasy 13 almost two decades ago.

KitGuru Says: Turn-based combat isn't for everyone, but I'm glad to see newer titles embracing it after a lengthy drought over the 2010s. 

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