Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Publisher Acknowledges the ‘Barbenheimer’ Energy of Releasing the Same Week as Oblivion Remastered

So, who’s excited to play the latest AAA fantasy RPG made in Unreal Engine 5 coming to Xbox (and Game Pass), PlayStation, and PC at launch? Heck yeah, I too am stoked for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33… or The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered?

With Bethesda finally getting around to officially revealing and shadow-dropping its long-rumored and often-leaked Oblivion remaster, RPG fans this week now have a difficult choice between spending hundreds of hours in Cyrodiil, or embarking on an expedition to take down the murderess Paintress in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. And while it’s certainly not unheard of for two same-genre games to release the same week, the similarities between the two are provoking both joyful and frustrated reactions from RPG fans… as well as a cheeky comment from Clair Obscur publisher Kepler Interactive.

omg its like barbenheimer pic.twitter.com/TN1AFzdggc

— Kepler Interactive (@Kepler_Interact) April 22, 2025

In an X/Twitter post, Kepler shared an edited image of the characters from Clair Obscur walking into an Oblivion Gate, with the text “omg its like barbenheimer” in a humorous nod to the simultaneous release of the films Barbie and Oppenheimer in theatres on the same day in 2023.

It’s nice that Kepler is good-natured about it, because some fans seem a little confused, even torn on the two games coming out at the same time. Unlike Barbie and Oppenheimer, which appealed to very different audiences, Clair Obscur and Oblivion seemingly have a decent amount of overlap within the fantasy RPG audience, leading to a number of individuals questioning which one they should play first, or if they should skip one or the other entirely.

Happy for Oblivion fans, but please don’t let Oblivion take all the oxygen out the room for Expedition 33 which is out in just 2 days!

It’s an amazing new indie game that is inspired by JRPG’s and made by a team of only 30 developers! pic.twitter.com/AvhMoa0WJP

— Genki✨ (@Genki_JPN) April 22, 2025

A few are also criticizing Microsoft, which owns Oblivion developer Bethesda and which has heavily backed Clair Obscur since its reveal at an Xbox Showcase last year. Though Microsoft is presumably not in control of Clair Obscur’s release date, we’ve known it since January and Xbox has likely known it even longer, and could have conceivably pushed Oblivion earlier or later to make room for both games to breathe.

Still, it’s not all bad. Ultimately what RPG fans are getting is two solid-looking AAA RPGs, both coming to Game Pass as well as PlayStation and PC, and both of which seemingly promise many, many hours of adventure. Why not simply play both?

Oblivion + Expedition 33 💚💚 pic.twitter.com/19Gutw7MnV

— 𝙰𝙷𝙼𝙳𝙽𝙷𝙾 • (@KHCHP) April 22, 2025

We just got our first actual, official look at The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered this morning, and as it’s out now we’ll be covering the game extensively in the coming days, including changes from and similarities to the original. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is coming out on Thursday, so expect to see lots of coverage of our adventures in that game later this week.

We’ve got a comprehensive guide to everything you’ll find in Oblivion Remastered, including an expansive Interactive Map, complete Walkthroughs for the Main Questline and every Guild Quest, How to Build the Perfect Character, Things to Do First, and much more.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.