Ex-Diablo devs are working on a new ARPG to innovate the genre

Diablo and Diablo 2 ex-devs are presently making a new "low-budget action RPG," which they feel has the potential to revolutionize industry. The first two Diablo games were bangers, therefore a new ARPG created by people associated with both projects has a decent chance of becoming excellent.

Phil Shenk, Peter Hu, and Erich Schaefer launched Moon Beast Productions, an independent creator. They received $4.5 million to create a new ARPG that will "push beyond the genre's established design patterns." The team, which includes Diablo 1 and 2 veterans, plans to transform the hack'n'slash genre. The team wants to create a more open, dynamic ARPG for over 20 years, and they “plan to return to what made early Diablo games so unique.”

Little is known about the game, but with a team of actual rock stars backing it, it has the potential to be one of the best action RPGs on the market. However, carving out a niche in a market packed with high-quality ARPGs will not be easy. Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred's expansion, for example, was a huge success, and the game has a large fan base that may be hesitant to leave.

Competing with Diablo is already a daunting task, especially when other popular titles such as Path of Exile 2 are vying for space in the genre. The recently released Path of Exile 2 was a great hit on Steam, with a peak player count of over 538,000 people, making it the 15th highest peak player count in the platform's history.