Diablo 2 veterans team up to create a new development studio, Moon Beast Productions. Phil Shenk and Peter Hu, respectively former Lead Artist and Lead Designer on Diablo 2, launch their own studio to work on a new original franchise.
Phil Shenk has over 25 years of experience in the game industry. He served as Lead Artist and Lore Writer at Blizzard Entertainment for Diablo 2, before leading design on the Lord of Destruction expansion.
Peter Hu is a 25-year veteran programmer and Lead Designer. He worked with Shenk on Diablo 2 and co-founded Runic Games, the studio behind Torchlight and Torchlight 2. He also served as Creative Director on Marvel Heroes at Gazillion and CEO of Rhino Games.
This is not the first time Shenk and Hu reunite after they departed from Blizzard North. The pair worked together at Flagship Studios, with other former Blizzard employees. The studio developed Hellgate: London, an ARPG in the same vein as the Diablo games but with 3D graphics.
The pair now announces founding their own studio, Moon Beast Productions. “We have huge ambitions for Moon Beast Productions and what we can achieve together,” says Hu. “We’ve both been entrepreneurs and know what it takes to run a company,” adds Shenk. “We’re just as passionate about building and a nurturing healthy, supportive, collaborative team culture as we are about making fantastic games.”
Shenk and Hu have plenty of experience working on ARPG and their next project should stay in the same genre. “Fans of our previous work will be hoping we stay true to our ARPG roots, and I don’t think they’ll be disappointed,” says Hu. “But we are also working on a few big innovations with incredible potential.”
Moon Beast Productions hasn’t yet revealed any details regarding its first original game.
