Why Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Lacks HDR Support and How to Work Around It

Introduction

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is an artistic, visually striking game that many players anticipate enjoying in full high dynamic range (HDR) glory on modern displays. However, players have encountered a surprising limitation: the game lacks native HDR support, and the anticipated HDR settings are conspicuously absent. This omission has frustrated users eager to exploit their HDR-capable hardware and achieve the most vivid, immersive gaming experience possible. This article explores why Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 lacks HDR support, the technical and developmental context behind this situation, its implications for gamers, and practical workarounds.

Background: HDR and Gaming

HDR, or High Dynamic Range, significantly enhances visual quality by expanding the range of luminance and color depth on compatible displays. In gaming, HDR brings brighter highlights, deeper shadows, and more lifelike colors, often transforming the visual experience of both new and legacy games. Native HDR support is becoming a standard feature in modern AAA titles and indie games alike as displays and gaming hardware increasingly support this technology.

Microsoft introduced Auto HDR in Windows 11, a system-level feature designed to elevate standard dynamic range (SDR) games by converting their visuals on the fly to exploit HDR displays. This serves as a bridge for older games that did not originally include HDR. However, the February 2024 Windows 11 24H2 update has introduced significant complications to Auto HDR, causing instability, crashes, and poor display performance in several games.

Why Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Lacks HDR Support

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 currently lacks built-in HDR support for multiple interconnected reasons:

1. Developmental Decisions and Priorities

Game developers often face a trade-off between artistic vision, performance optimization, and feature support. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 boasts a distinct, chiaroscuro-inspired art style that relies heavily on stark contrasts between light and shadow in a stylized manner. Developers may have prioritized visual consistency and optimization for standard dynamic range systems, setting HDR support aside either due to resource constraints or to maintain artistic control over how visuals appear.

2. Technical Challenges

Implementing native HDR support involves reworking lighting engines, asset textures, and color grading to take advantage of HDR’s extended luminance and color gamut. If the game engine or rendering pipeline was initially designed without HDR in mind, retrofitting this capability requires significant effort and can introduce bugs or unintended visual artifacts. This technical hurdle, combined with limited development timelines, often results in some games launching without HDR features.

3. Windows 11 Auto HDR Instability

While Windows 11’s Auto HDR could potentially fill this gap for SDR-only games like Clair Obscur, users have reported widespread issues with Auto HDR since the Windows 11 24H2 update. Problems include crashes, incorrect colors, game freezes, and failure to launch when Auto HDR is enabled. These issues undercut the benefits of the system-level HDR workaround for many affected players.

Microsoft has acknowledged these Auto HDR issues, confirmed they stem from bugs introduced in the 24H2 update, and is actively working on a fix. However, no timeline for resolution has been provided yet. In the meantime, Microsoft recommends disabling Auto HDR to avoid gaming disruptions.

Implications and Impact

For Players

The absence of native HDR support in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 means players with HDR displays miss out on the potential visual enhancements that HDR offers. Those relying on Windows 11’s Auto HDR feature are presently facing instability, affecting gameplay smoothness and causing frustration.

Additionally, disabling Auto HDR to maintain stability reverts the game’s visuals to SDR, negating the hardware's HDR advantage and the enriching visuals many seek. This situation is particularly disappointing for players who invested in high-end HDR-curated hardware expecting a seamless HDR experience.

For Developers and Microsoft

This issue underscores the complexity of delivering consistent HDR experiences across diverse hardware, software, and operating system environments. It also highlights challenges in Microsoft's update rollout processes, as the 24H2 update’s bugs have compromised a key gaming feature, Auto HDR.

Microsoft faces pressure to expedite fixes to regain trust among PC gamers and maintain Windows 11’s reputation as a viable gaming OS. Meanwhile, developers are reminded of the importance of integrating HDR support natively where possible to avoid dependence on system-level upscaling features prone to instability.

Technical Details and Workarounds

Disabling Auto HDR

Until Microsoft releases a patch, the most reliable workaround is to disable Auto HDR:

• Open Settings on Windows (Win + I).
• Navigate to System > Display.
• Scroll to Graphics Settings or locate HDR-related settings.
• Toggle off Auto HDR globally or per game (Graphics > Game specific settings > disable HDR for the problematic game).
• Restart the PC for changes to take effect (optional but recommended).

This removes HDR-related crashes but sacrifices enhanced visual quality.

Rolling Back Windows Update

For users heavily impacted by the 24H2 update, rolling back to a previous Windows 11 version without the HDR bug is an option:

• Go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update.
• Select Uninstall Updates and choose the problematic 24H2 update.
• Follow instructions to revert to the earlier stable build.

Users should balance security and feature considerations before rolling back.

Manual Display Calibration

Gamers can use their monitor’s built-in settings or GPU control panels (NVIDIA, AMD) to manually adjust brightness, contrast, and color calibration as a partial visual enhancement substitute while HDR issues persist.

Conclusion

The lack of HDR support in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 results from a combination of developmental priorities, technical challenges, and recent Windows 11 Auto HDR-related bugs. While the game's art style and design choices influence HDR implementation, the broader instability introduced by Microsoft’s 24H2 update has further exacerbated players' disappointment.

For now, disabling Auto HDR or rolling back the Windows update provides the most stable gaming experience, albeit at the cost of HDR’s vivid enhancements. Gamers and developers alike await Microsoft's patch, which promises to restore HDR functionality without sacrificing stability.

The current situation stands as a cautionary tale of the complexities in delivering cutting-edge gaming features across evolving hardware and software ecosystems, emphasizing the need for thorough testing, robust fallback plans, and clear communication with users.

• For detailed Microsoft Auto HDR issues and workarounds, see the Windows Forum discussions and troubleshooting posts: