Former Diablo devs receive $4.5 million to create spiritual successor to classic ARPG

A who’s who of former Diablo devs just received a bucketload of funding to make a new RPG that captures “what made those early Diablo games feel so awesome”.

Between the release of Diablo 4’s Vessel of Hatred expansion and the smashing success of Path of Exile 2’s early access, it’s been a fantastic few months for ARPG fans. There’s a definite hunger for the genre based on the sweeping numbers of concurrent players that the latter has drawn in.

Of course, each of the current heavy hitters has their own issues with complaints about Diablo 4’s endgame still prevalent and Path of Exile 2’s devs working round the clock to fix early access hiccups. A truly perfect experience in the genre still eludes fans but they may have something new to put their hopes in.

Moon Beast Productions – a development studio made up of a number of former Diablo devs – has just made a major announcement. The company has managed to secure $4.5 million in seed funding to create its own entry in the current ARPG boom.

Moon Beast Productions

Moon Beast Productions’ Lovecraftian logo may hint at the inspiration for their upcoming ARPG.

Moon Beast Productions’ new ARPG looks to capture the vibes of classic Diablo

Moon Beast itself is made up of a number of talented devs who’ve worked on games like Diablo, Diablo 2, Diablo 3, and Torchlight. With that kind of experience, their mission statement certainly rings true.

“We love action role-playing games…They’re in our blood, and are what we do best. We started Moon Beast Productions because we want to keep making ARPGs better,” the studio’s webpage reads. It looks like they’ll get a chance to do so based on a press release regarding their recently acquired funding.

The studio plans to put the money towards exploring an “alternate trajectory for action RPGs”. One that will “reimagine what the genre could have become if ARPG designs had taken a different path,” and offer “truly unique experiences with each playthrough.”

“For the past 20 years, we’ve dreamed of ARPG gameplay in more open, dynamic worlds,” Moon Beast co-founder Erich Schaefer. “We finally have the technological capabilities and decades of design experience to bring those visions to life. We’re going back to what made those early Diablo games feel so awesome but taking them in some cool, fresh directions.”

Co-founder Peter Hu, who has worked on Diablo 2 titles and the Torchlight series, also mentioned a major focus on player-driven content. “Our world technology is inherently dynamic, which makes it incredibly easy for players to create and integrate their own content,” Hu said. “We’re building in-game tools that allow players to not just mod, but potentially create entirely new game modes using our robust, client-server ARPG systems.”

As for more solid details surrounding the exact nature of their new game, the team at Moon Beast is being fairly tight-lipped. They have however revealed that they plan to go into more depth with an announcement in early 2025.