Diablo Vets Craft Next-Gen ARPG

Former Diablo and Diablo II developers are creating a new, low-budget action RPG with the ambition to redefine the genre. Given the success of the original Diablo games, this new ARPG from veteran developers has high potential.

Moon Beast Productions, an independent studio founded by Phil Shenk, Peter Hu, and Erich Schaefer, secured $4.5 million in funding to develop an ARPG that aims to "break free from established design conventions." This team, boasting Diablo I and II veterans, intends to revolutionize the hack-and-slash experience. Their vision, cultivated over two decades, is to create a more open and dynamic ARPG, harkening back to the elements that made the early Diablo games so iconic.

While details remain scarce, the involvement of such experienced developers suggests this could be a top-tier action RPG. However, breaking into a crowded market filled with high-quality ARPGs presents a significant challenge. The recent success of Diablo IV's Vessel of Hatred expansion, for instance, highlights the established player base and potential resistance to switching games.

The competition is fierce, with established giants like Path of Exile 2 also vying for attention. The recent launch of Path of Exile 2 achieved remarkable success on Steam, boasting a peak player count exceeding 538,000, ranking among the platform's top 15 highest peak player counts ever.