With the long-awaited release of Blizzard’s Diablo 4 last year and its Vessel of Hatred expansion a few months ago, not to mention the early access launch of Path of Exile 2, it’s an excellent time for action-RPG or ARPG fans. Moon Beast Productions, a new studio that includes Diablo co-creator Erich Schaefer and developers who worked on Diablo 1, Diablo 2, Diablo 3, Torchlight, and more, are cooking up something new for the genre.
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The studio has secured funding for its new ARPG game, which it’s set to unveil sometime next year. It’s looking to shake up the genre with something new while returning to its roots, the original Diablo from 1996.
“For the past 20 years, we’ve dreamed of ARPG gameplay in more open, dynamic worlds,” Erich Schaefer, who was instrumental in the first Diablo game’s development, said in the press release. “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.”
Moon Beast Productions’ president, Peter Hu, an ARPG veteran who worked on Diablo 2, notes that the mystery game will include robust modding tools – ala Warcraft 3 – for players and budding designers to develop and release mods and new game modes.
“Our world technology is inherently dynamic, which makes it incredibly easy for players to create and integrate their own content,” Peter 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.”
Even with Diablo 4 releasing new content every few months as seasonal updates and refreshes and Path of Exile 2 proving to be a smash hit, there’s always room for more ARPG goodness. Stay tuned for more on this one.