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

Led by 1AM Gaming, the round was 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 funding, which came back in June, marks a critical moment for the studio, providing resources to expand the team while maintaining the lean, focused approach defined. Moon Beast Productions since its inception. The investment will accelerate the studio’s development of an innovative action role-playing game (ARPG) that challenges conventional design paradigms.

“In today’s challenging funding environment, we are extremely fortunate to have investors who understand our vision,” said Peter Hu, president and cofounder, in a statement. “Our approach has always been about working smarter, not just harder. We build reusable, data-driven systems that allow us to iterate quickly and do more with less.

The studio is well aware of the challenges that independent game developers face. As big-budget triple-A titles dominate the market, gamers are increasingly hungry for fresh, new experiences that break from formulaic design. Moon Beast saw this as an opportunity to offer something truly different. The company’s game is in the early game stage where the company gets feedback.

“We’re never satisfied with following people,” said Phil Shenk, CEO of Moon Beast Productions, in a statement. “Throughout our careers, we’ve always pushed to reinvent genres. We were there at the beginning, helping to invent ARPGs with Diablo and Diablo II. In the following years, from Hellgate: London to Torchlight, and Marvel Heroes Online, we have always sought to expand what players expect from the genre.

An ARPG for everyone

Shenk has yet to reveal the name or details of the game. But the upcoming project is a testament to this philosophy. Remembering the pivotal moment after Diablo II, the team explored an alternative trajectory for action RPGs—one that was technologically impossible more than two decades ago. Their new game aims to re-imagine what the genre could have been if ARPG designs had taken a different path.

“A lot of people have trouble getting their A round or B round, and the C round is also difficult. And so we’re lucky that we found 1am Gaming and others who believe in us, and they want to help us it will happen,” Shenk said in an interview with GamesBeat.

He added, “We want to get our name out there and let people know that we’re still alive and we’re moving forward and we’re excited about what we’re building. And then that leads into next year, when we’re looking forward to being able to say to people what we’re working on.”

The pitch attracted some investors in part because it wasn’t focused on most hardcore gamers, even though it was an action RPG, Shenk said.

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

Taking advantage of advanced procedural generation and dynamic world technologies, Moon Beast creates a game world that offers truly unique experiences with every playthrough. The goal is a spacious, open design that gives players unprecedented freedom and replayability.

“For the past 20 years, we’ve been dreaming of ARPG gameplay in more open, dynamic worlds,” said Erich Schaefer, chief creative officer, in a statement. “We finally have the technology capabilities and decades of design experience to bring those visions to life. We’re going back to what made the first Diablo games feel amazing but bringing it to some cool, fresh direction.

A key innovation is the studio’s commitment to user-generated content (UGC). “Our world technology is inherently dynamic, which makes it easy for players to create and integrate their own content,” Husaid. “We’ve created in-game tools that allow players to not only mod, but potentially create entirely new game modes using our robust, client-server ARPG systems .”

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

Shenk explained, “Think about how MOBAs came out of Warcraft III mods. Our UGC tools both open up new genres built on ARPG gameplay and systems.

Overwolf is focused on user-generated content and modding. Shenk believes that gaming will benefit from the acceptance of UGC and the desire for self-expression.

Lead investor Gregory Milken from 1AM Gaming shared his view in a statement.

“What sets Moon Beast apart is their thoughtful approach,” Milken said. “They don’t chase trends but expertly create a unique experience that truly expands the ARPG genre and shakes up the current formula. We’re big believers in the team and great fans of their past.” genre-defining works.

The studio plans to reveal more details 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 excited about the new ways we’re shaking it up. It’s exciting to be able to make a bag genre approach.

A long trip

It is a journey.

“We were very small for a long time, and built a lot of core tech. We experimented with a couple of game design ideas, you know, everything related to ARPGs. And we always had this idea of ​​including the creators in our plans. But when Erich came on board, we became very focused on the core gameplay, the core ARPG, and tried to do as much as we could with a little team, and want to remain independent and maintain our creative control,” Shenk said. “It goes back to our roots like Diablo.”

But it’s not a clone of Diablo, which was led by team members while at Blizzard. But Moon Beast Productions is a startup and it’s smaller than Blizzard.

Shenk said the team operates with as much focus on quality as possible. The team members find it fun, and they have a lot of experience building games. But they remain practical and don’t try to bite off more than they can chew.

“We say, ‘Not today.’ We’re going to keep things in scope so we have a good chance of delivering something the players want,” he said.