Moon Beast Productions Devs chat with Zizaran about their new ARPG

The legends behind Diablo are back—and they’re building something huge. In an exclusive chat with ARPG streamer Zizaran, the devs at Moon Beast Productions — Phil Shenk, Erich Schaefer, and Peter Hu — pulled back the curtain on their untitled new action RPG, and it sounds like nothing else in the genre right now. Check out the full interview on Youtube.com/@Zizaran

The team’s pedigree alone is wild: these are veterans who helped define the ARPG with Diablo and Torchlight. But their new project isn’t just another dungeon crawler — it’s a full-blown reimagining of what an ARPG can be, built around procedural generation, terraforming, and massively multiplayer exploration. Still in pre-alpha, it already sounds like one of the boldest takes we’ve heard on the genre in years.

The Band Gets Back Together – Moon Beast is basically a supergroup of ARPG royalty.

Phil Shenk, lead artist on Diablo II, reflected on his time at Blizzard North — from creating the Amazon, Necromancer, and Assassin, to world-building Sanctuary itself. “I didn’t know how lucky I was at the time, but I really appreciate it now,” Shenk said, nodding to his infamous cameo in-game as Shenk the Overseer.

Erich Schaefer, co-creator of Diablo, and co-founder of Condor which went on to become Blizzard North, described his long career as a constant cycle of invention — from Hellgate: London to Torchlight and Rebel Galaxy. “I’ve been doing that my whole life — starting companies, designing games,” he said, clearly excited to return to his roots.

Peter Hu, another Diablo II alum and primary architect of the LOD expansion, with credits on Hellgate London, Torchlight, Marvel Heroes Online, and Mythgard, admitted he took a pay cut just to join Blizzard North back in the day. His focus now? Core systems, optimization, and network design. He also gave a shoutout to teammate Brian Bazyk, who’s pushing tech like real-time terrain deformation and advanced networking.

Looking Back — and Pushing Forward with Moon Beast

When reflecting on Diablo II, the team’s nostalgia came mixed with a dose of realism. Schaefer fondly remembered wild ideas like Corpse Explosion, while admitting the crunch was brutal. “The physical toll and mental toll… the industry standards back then were pretty crazy,” he said. Hu lamented the lack of post-launch support caused by burnout, while Shenk remembered the thrill of making combat feel visceral — a huge step up from Diablo I.

“You can just turn on the mod tools while you’re in the game and change stuff around”

Erich Schaefer.

They also gave props to the Diablo II modding scene — projects like Path of Diablo and Project Diablo II — and Hu revealed he actually worked to make the original game more moddable. That spirit lives on in Moon Beast’s new title. “You can just turn on the mod tools while you’re in the game and change stuff around,” Schaefer teased.

Procedural Worlds, Terraforming, and True Replayability

Moon Beast’s game draws inspiration from some unexpected places — think Minecraft’s creative freedom meets Civilization’s strategic exploration. “I want to lean into that,” Schaefer said. “Because replayability dies when everything’s predictable.”

Procedural generation will make every new world different — from snowy peaks to misty lowlands — while terraforming lets players literally reshape the environment. “You can make it your own,” Schaefer said, hinting at base building, defenses, and even entire cities. Players can “own” sectors, defend them from monster raids, manage resources, and recruit NPCs — think Valheim meets Path of Exile’s Settlers league with some Master of Orion DNA.

The world itself is designed to evolve — and even fall apart. Entire towns can be destroyed during events like Lich invasions, forcing players to adapt. The map is infinite, the terrain dynamic, and destruction is permanent. Zizaran, who’s already demoed it, floated wild possibilities like diverting lava or breaking dams, calling it “ARPG sandbox potential on a new level.”

“ARPG sandbox potential on a new level.”

@zizaran

Massive Multiplayer Without the MMO Grind

Multiplayer is another huge focus. Hu confirmed Moon Beast is experimenting with a custom network infrastructure to support “hundreds or even thousands” of players per shard — aiming for that EverQuest and Ultima Online scale of shared worlds, but with ARPG combat and pacing.

“We’re using a very unique network infrastructure for this game… we’re hoping to get as many people as we can fit on, whether it’s hundreds or thousands”

Peter Hu

That’s an ambitious goal — but with this team, it feels plausible. The idea is to create spaces where players naturally form communities, claim land, and leave lasting marks on the world together.

No Free-to-Play Tricks, Just Player Freedom

While the team’s keeping the game’s name secret for a proper reveal, they were clear about one thing: no microtransaction nonsense. “We’ve done a lot of revealing already, but that’s a big marketing beat,” Shenk laughed, before adding that Moon Beast is focused entirely on player-driven experiences — not monetization gimmicks.

With deep ARPG roots, massive multiplayer ambitions, and a world that literally reshapes itself, Moon Beast’s new game might just be the next big evolution for the genre. The project’s still early, but one thing’s certain — the ARPG legends are back, and they’re building something that could change everything.

ARPG Life – Side Notes:

They also dropped some pretty spicy takes which I won’t cover here in depth (you’ll have to go watch on YouTube! or join Moon Beast Discord for all of the juicy details) That said, here is a small taste: When asked if they would add a moonbeast to the game, they coyly asked… “how do you know there isn’t one already” I mean these guys are the ones who added the Cow Level and the Chat Gem… so you never know what kind of funny, strange, or mysterious stuff they will work in!

Read about the Recent Moon Beast Game Playtest

Join the discussion on Moon Beast Discord and catch the full interview with Zizaran on Youtube