Summary
- Ex Diablo developers are making a new ARPG aiming to innovate the genre.
- Moon Beast Productions, founded by industry veterans, secured funding for the project.
- Competing with established ARPGs like Diablo and Path of Exile 2 will be challenging.
Some of the developers who created Diablo and Diablo 2 are currently working on a new “low-budget action RPG,” which they believe can be groundbreaking for the genre. The first two Diablo games are incredibly popular and influential titles, so a new ARPG made by names attached to these projects has a good shot at being an amazing game.
Released in 1997, Diablo was a surprisingly big hit. While action RPGs already existed before Diablo, the game became absurdly influential, selling over 2.5 million copies, and creating countless clones. The sequel Diablo 2 was released for PC in 2000 and ended up as one of the most successful and influential games ever made. The second game sold over 15 million units, and is widely recognized as one of the best Diablo games.
Now, industry veterans Phil Shenk, Peter Hu, and Erich Schaefer have founded a new independent studio called Moon Beast Productions. According to TechSpot, Moon Beast Productions recently secured $4.5 million to develop a new ARPG that will go “beyond the genre’s traditional design templates.” The team, which has members who worked on Diablo 1 and 2, intends to revolutionize the hack’n’slash genre by working “smarter,” rather than harder. According to Moon Beast’s chief creative director, Erich Schaefer, the team has dreamed of creating a more open, dynamic ARPG for over 20 years, and the team intends to return to what made early Diablo games so unique. Little information has been unveiled about the game, but with a team of veritable rock stars behind the project, it has the potential to become one of the best action RPGs on the market.
Diablo 1 and 2 Creators To Develop New ARPG With Only $4.5 Million
Carving a space in a market filled with excellent ARPGs likely won’t be easy, though. The Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred’s expansion was very popular, for example, and the game hosts a sizable fan base that may be reluctant to move on.
Competing with Diablo itself is already a serious undertaking, especially when other popular titles like Path of Exile 2 are also fighting for space in the genre. The recently released Path of Exile 2 was a huge hit on Steam, achieving a peak player count of over 538,000 players and boasting the 15th all-time highest peak player count in the platform's history. The title also received glowing reviews from most critics, and it currently holds an average of 87 on OpenCritic. Hopefully, Moon Beast Productions’ upcoming ARPG will enjoy a reception similar to Path of Exile 2's and the veteran team will find ways to push the genre forward.
WHERE TO PLAY
Explore the game that spawned a million legends of the one and only, legendary and undying Diablo.
The kingdom of Khandaras has fallen into chaos. An unknown force of evil has swept across the land. Plunging it into civil war and terrorizing the populace. A mad king, his missing son, and a mysterious archbishop are all pieces to the puzzle that faces you. You have journeyed to the source of the evil -- the town of Tristram, now inhabited by only a handful of survivors.
The cathedral there is built over the ruins of an ancient monastery, and now eerie lights and sounds are heard echoing through its abandoned halls. Perhaps the answer lies within the remains of a forgotten past...
Diablo invites you to enter a world of dark, gothic fantasy. Play as a brave warrior, cunning rogue or mysterious sorcerer. As you venture deeper into the labyrinth, you'll discover weapons, armor, and magical treasures, and develop your character's skills and abilities.
- Platform(s)
- PC, PlayStation (Original)
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
