Moon Beast Productions has recently announced a significant milestone: securing $4.5 million in seed funding. This promising development was spearheaded by 1AM Gaming, with participation from notable names such as 1UP Ventures, The Mini Fund, Overwolf, and Versus Ventures, alongside several angel investors.
The studio plans to channel this substantial investment into crafting an innovative action RPG that aims to shake up traditional design norms.
Moon Beast was established in March 2022 by Peter Hu and Phil Shenk, both renowned for their work on the Diablo 2 team. Joining them in 2023, Erich Schaefer, one of the masterminds behind Diablo 2, stepped in as chief creative officer, further bolstering the team’s expertise.
“In today’s challenging funding environment, we’re incredibly fortunate to have investors who understand our vision,” said Peter Hu, the president and co-founder. He emphasized their strategic approach, noting, “Our focus has always been on optimizing our efforts by developing reusable, data-driven systems. This method allows us to iterate quickly and achieve more with limited resources.”
Phil Shenk chimed in, highlighting their dedication to innovation: “We’ve never been ones to follow the crowd. Throughout our careers, we’ve pushed to redefine genres. We were there at the inception, contributing to the birth of ARPGs with Diablo and Diablo 2. Over the years, with titles like Hellgate: London, Torchlight, and Marvel Heroes Online, we’ve consistently sought to broaden what players expect from the genre.”
