Diablo Veterans at Moon Beast Productions Unveil Darkhaven

Moon Beast Productions, an independent studio founded by Diablo veterans Philip Shenk (Lead Artist on Diablo II), Peter Hu (Programmer on Diablo) and Erich Schaefer (Project and Design Lead on Diablo II), has announced Darkhaven. It is their take on the action RPG genre, featuring a fully dynamic, persistent world. A Kickstarter campaign will be launched soon to help the community bring the project to Early Access.

"From the very beginning, we wanted Darkhaven to feel good to play," said Erich Schaefer, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer. "Movement is fun. Being able to jump over attacks, climb cliffs, dash out of danger, or swim across a lake that may or may not be infested with riverfangs changes how combat feels in this kind of game. It's not just about numbers fighting numbers anymore. It's much more engaging. For me, it becomes more about skill, finding flow, and making smart decisions in the moment. I've never had more fun making and playing an ARPG."

This isometric ARPG with a dark fantasy theme is designed for solo play, cooperative adventures and PvP-enabled realms. Players can deform and build terrain and structures, digging through earth, tunnelling through dungeon walls, draining lakes to uncover buried ruins, redirecting lava flows to reshape battlefields and rebuilding shattered fortresses. Seasons change and weather alters combat and traversal, while world-altering events leave permanent scars on the landscape. In Darkhaven, combat enhances the balance between stat progression, build choice, and player skill. Heroes can jump, climb, swim, dash and traverse the world freely. Success depends not only on stats, but also on movement, timing, and terrain awareness.

The game's approach to itemisation and progression draws significant inspiration from the original Diablo and Diablo II games. "Rejecting the incrementalism common in many modern titles, Darkhaven embraces bold, expressive loot – items that feel powerful, sometimes surprisingly so, and capable of redefining builds rather than merely optimizing them," the developers said.

"Great itemization is about possibility," said Peter Hu, Co-Founder and President. "In Darkhaven, we want items that open doors, gear that makes you stop and rethink your build, your strategy, or even how you play the game. Finding something powerful should be exciting and inspiring, not something that gets smoothed out into tiny percentage gains."

Moon Beast Productions is an independent game developer founded in 2021 by industry veterans Philip Shenk, Peter Hu and Erich Schaefer. The company has offices in San Francisco, California, and Austin, Texas. Team members have worked on games such as Diablo, Diablo II, Diablo II: Lord of Destruction, Diablo III, Hellgate: London, Torchlight, Torchlight II, Nox and Marvel Heroes Online.

"We're incredibly excited to finally reveal Darkhaven and open its Steam page," said Philip Shenk, CEO and Co-Founder. "This project represents everything we've learned about ARPGs over the last two decades, and what becomes possible when those ideas are combined with modern technology. We're building a world that remembers what you've done, bears the scars of your victories and failures, and tells stories that only your playthrough can create. With the community's support, we're ready to bring Darkhaven to Early Access, which will allow us to continue to build the game into the incredible experience we all want it to be."