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Darkhaven Announced as a Next-Generation Isometric ARPG
Moon Beast Productions, a new independent studio formed by veteran developers behind Diablo and Torchlight, has officially revealed Darkhaven, a dark fantasy action RPG built around a fully dynamic and persistent world. Alongside the announcement, the studio has launched Darkhaven’s Steam page and confirmed plans for an upcoming Kickstarter campaign, which will include a playable demo when it goes live.
Founded by Philip Shenk, Peter Hu, and Erich Schaefer, Moon Beast Productions sees this new title as a return to the genre’s core identity while expanding what an ARPG can be in terms of player agency, movement, and long-term world impact.
A World That Changes and Remembers
Set after the collapse of civilisation, Darkhaven takes place in a dying world reclaimed by wilderness, monsters and supernatural threats. Ancient empires have fallen, leaving behind ruins that players can uncover, reshape, or rebuild. Players assume the role of heirs to a fading legacy, tasked with pushing back eldritch forces feeding on the remains of the world.
What sets the game apart is its fully persistent and procedurally generated world. Terrain and structures are deformable and buildable, allowing players to tunnel through dungeon walls, drain lakes to expose buried ruins, redirect lava flows, or reconstruct shattered fortresses. Seasonal shifts, dynamic weather and world-altering events permanently scar the landscape, ensuring no two realms evolve in quite the same way.
Every action contributes to a shared history, whether you play solo, cooperatively, or in PvP-enabled realms.
Skill-Driven Combat Beyond Stat Checks
Combat in Darkhaven places far greater emphasis on player skill and movement than traditional isometric ARPGs. Characters can jump, dash, climb, swim, and traverse terrain freely, introducing verticality and spatial awareness as core combat elements.
Rather than relying purely on numerical optimisation, success depends on timing, positioning and intelligent use of the environment. According to co-founder Erich Schaefer, movement is central to making the game feel engaging moment to moment, transforming combat into something more expressive and reactive.
Loot Inspired by the Genre’s Origins
The approach to itemisation draws heavily from the philosophy of Diablo and Diablo II. Instead of incremental percentage upgrades, the game focuses on bold, build-defining loot that can dramatically alter how characters play.
Items are designed to open up new possibilities rather than simply optimise existing ones, encouraging experimentation and rethinking strategies whenever powerful gear is discovered. The developers describe this as a deliberate rejection of modern ARPG bloat in favour of excitement and meaningful progression.
Moon Beast Productions brings together developers with credits across genre-defining titles such as Diablo, Diablo II, Diablo III, Torchlight, Torchlight II, Hellgate: London, Nox and Marvel Heroes Online. With Darkhaven, the team aims to combine decades of ARPG experience with modern technology to create a world that responds to player actions in lasting ways.
Kickstarter and Early Access Plans
The game is planned to enter Early Access following its Kickstarter campaign, which will allow players to support development and provide feedback throughout the process. A playable demo will be made available alongside the campaign, giving players their first hands-on look at the game’s systems.
Darkhaven is currently in development for PC, with players able to wishlist the game on Steam and follow its upcoming Kickstarter campaign for further updates.
