With the formation of Moon Beast Productions, the duo is rekindling a partnership that helped deliver the groundbreaking Diablo II and Lord of Destruction at Blizzard North. Drawing on their formidable experience building decades of acclaimed ARPGs, the co-founders are focused on a new title and game setting with all the creativity and deep systems design they’re known for, plus some very forward-thinking, genuine innovation.
Phil Shenk is a 25-year veteran game developer and entrepreneur who has held key roles working on some of the most influential game franchises of all time. While at Blizzard Entertainment, he served as Lead Artist and lore writer for Diablo II before leading design on the Lord of Destruction expansion. In 2003 he joined Peter Hu and other key members of Blizzard North to form Flagship Studios and released Hellgate: London.
Aside from his early work as a programmer and lead designer at Blizzard North on Diablo II, Peter Hu has had a 25-year career as co-founder of Flagship Studios and Runic Games (Torchlight and Torchlight 2), Creative Director on Marvel Heroes at Gazillion, and founder/CEO of Rhino Games.
“We have huge ambitions for Moon Beast Productions and what we can achieve together,” said Co-Founder Peter Hu. “Phil and I bring a wealth of experience to the table, and we’re both extremely excited about this new project. Fans of our previous work will be hoping we stay true to our ARPG roots, and I don’t think they’ll be disappointed, but we are also working on a few big innovations with incredible potential.” said Moon Beast Co-Founder Peter Hu.
“This partnership is inspiring for me because consistently throughout our careers, we’ve both been passionate about making unforgettable game experiences,” said Moon Beast’s Co-Founder Phil Shenk. “And what we’re working on now is exactly that, but also really stretching into some innovative territory. Peter’s incredible design and technical skills and my passion for world-building and creative direction are an unbeatable combination. Not only that, but we’ve both been entrepreneurs and know what it takes to run a company. We’re just as passionate about building and a nurturing healthy, supportive, collaborative team culture as we are about making fantastic games. I’ve never been more excited about the potential for something as I am for what we’re doing here at Moon Beast!,” added Moon Beast Co-Founder Phil Shenk.