Moon Beast Productions is an independent studio that was founded by a few Diablo veterans: Philip Shenk, Peter Hu, and Erich Schaefer. Together along with a small team of other developers, they are working on a "next-generation action RPG that returns to the genre's roots." That game is Darkhaven and so far it has a Steam page that is live, and a Kickstarter that is coming soon.
Darkhaven is, and stop me if you've heard this one before, but it is a "dark fantasy isometric ARPG set in the aftermath of a great and final collapse of civilization." Empires gave way to ruins reclaimed by wilderness, monsters, and "predatory supernatural forces." There are also some eldritch evil worms thrown in for good measure.
An Early Access release is planned for Steam. There will also be a demo available for the game.
Designed for solo play, cooperative adventures, and high-stakes PvP-enabled realms, Darkhaven is set in a procedurally generated, fully dynamic, and persistent world. Terrain and structures are deformable and buildable, allowing players to dig through earth, tunnel through dungeon walls, drain lakes to uncover buried ruins, redirect lava flows to reshape battlefields, or rebuild shattered fortresses. Seasons change, weather alters combat and traversal, and world-altering events leave permanent scars. Every action contributes to a shared, evolving history.
Combat in Darkhaven enhances the balance between stat progression, build choice, and player skill. Heroes can jump, climb, swim, dash, and traverse the world freely, introducing a new layer of action and skill rarely seen in the genre. Success is not just a function of stats, but of movement, timing, and terrain awareness, dramatically expanding the “action” at the heart of action RPGs.
The game’s itemization and progression philosophy draws heavily on the originators of the ARPG genre, Diablo and Diablo II. 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.
Combat in Darkhaven enhances the balance between stat progression, build choice, and player skill. Heroes can jump, climb, swim, dash, and traverse the world freely, introducing a new layer of action and skill rarely seen in the genre. Success is not just a function of stats, but of movement, timing, and terrain awareness, dramatically expanding the “action” at the heart of action RPGs.
The game’s itemization and progression philosophy draws heavily on the originators of the ARPG genre, Diablo and Diablo II. 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.
