Moon Beast Productions raises $4.5M for action RPG

Moon Beast ProductionsThe independent studio founded by industry veterans Phil Shenk, Peter Hu, and Erich Schaefer, has raised $4.5 million in seed funding.

Led by 1AM Sports, the round is joined by 1UP Ventures, The Mini Fund, Overwolf, Versus Ventures, and a network of notable angel investors including Gaingels, Cohh Carnage, and Mark Pincus.

This investment, which came back in June, is a very difficult time for the studio, providing resources to expand the team and maintain the straight and focused approach that it has defined. Moon Beast Productions since its inception. The funding will enable the studio to create a new role-playing game (ARPG) that defies conventional paradigms.

“In today’s challenging financial environment, we are very fortunate to have investors who understand our vision,” said Peter Hu, president and cofounder, in a statement. “Our approach has always been to work smarter, not harder. We’re building a user-friendly, data-driven system that allows us to read faster and create more with less.”

The studio is well aware of the challenges that independent game developers face. Despite the big-three-A titles on the market, players are increasingly demanding new, innovative products that differ from the original design. Moon Beast sees this as an opportunity to offer something different. The company’s game is in its first stage where the company can receive feedback.

“We are not content to follow the crowd,” said Phil Shenk, CEO of Moon Beast Productions, in a statement. “Throughout our work, we’ve been working to redefine genres. We were there at the beginning, helping to create ARPGs with Diablo and Diablo II. Over the years, from Hellgate: London to Torchlight, and Marvel Heroes Online, we’ve been working to expand what players expect from the genre.” .

ARPG for all

Shenk has yet to reveal the name or details of the game. But this upcoming project is a testament to this philosophy. If we look back to the important time after Diablo II, the team is looking for another way to do RPGs – something that was impossible with the technology of twenty years ago. Their new game aims to reimagine what the genre would be like if ARPG design took a different path.

“A lot of people who are struggling to get round A or B, and C are also difficult. And we were lucky that we found 1am Games and others who believe in us, and want to help us make it happen,” Shenk said in an interview with GamesBeat.

He added: “We want to get our name out there so that people know that we are still alive and we are doing extreme things and we are happy with what we are building.” And then that will come next year, when we look forward to telling people what we are doing.”

The game was appealing to some investors in part because it wasn’t aimed at hardcore gamers, even though it’s an action RPG, Shenk said.

“It’s an ARPG that anyone can play,” he said.

Using the most advanced techniques and powerful technologies from around the world, Moon Beast is creating a game world that offers a unique experience in every playthrough. The goal is an expansive, open system that gives players incredible freedom and replayability.

“For the past 20 years, we’ve been craving ARPGs in open, dynamic worlds,” said Erich Schaefer, chief creative officer, in a statement. “We finally have the technology and years of experience to bring this vision to life. We’re going back to what made the original Diablo games fun but taking them in new and exciting directions.”

The biggest innovation is the studio’s commitment to user-generated content (UGC). “Our world-class technology is standardized, which makes it easy for players to create and integrate their content,” Husaid. “We are creating game tools that allow players to not only customize, but to create new types of games using our powerful ARPG client engine.”

Avner Florenthal, vice president of business development at Overwolf, in a statement. “We are excited about Moon Beast’s vision for player development. Their approach to UGC can extend the life of the game and create new gaming experiences.”

Shenk explained, “Think about how MOBAs evolved from Warcraft III mods. Our UGC tools can also open new models built on ARPG games and systems.”

Overwolf focuses on user-generated content and innovation. Shenk believes the game will benefit from embracing UGC and the desire to show off.

Finance director Gregory Milken from 1AM Gaming shared his thoughts in a statement.

“What sets the Moon Beast apart is their way of thinking,” Milken said. “They’re not chasing trends but they’re creatively creating unique art that can expand the ARPG genre and shake up what’s out there. We’re big believers in this team and big fans of their genre-defining past work.”

The studio plans to reveal more about their new project in early 2025.

“I think fans of our original Diablo games will find a lot to love,” Schaefer said, “but I’m also very excited about the new ways we’re shaking things up. It’s great to have a new way to evolve the genre.”

Long haul

It’s been a journey.

“We were small for a long time, and we made high-tech. We tried several game design ideas, you know, all related to ARPGs. And we’ve always had the idea of ​​involving creators in our plans. But when Erich came on board, we looked more of a medium game, a large ARPG, and trying to do as much as we can with a small team, I want to be independent and still be in control,” said Shenk. “This goes back to our roots as Diablo.”

But it won’t be the same as Diablo, which the team members led while at Blizzard. But Moon Beast Productions is a startup and is smaller than Blizzard.

Shenk said the team works as thoughtfully as possible. The members of the group get a lot of fun, and they have a lot of building games. But they are still helpful and don’t try to bite more than they can.

We say, ‘Not today.’ “Let’s keep things in order so that we have the opportunity to provide what the players will like,” he said.