Starblo was an action-RPG conceptualized by Blizzard North after they completed work on Diablo II. While one team focused on continuing to develop for the Diablo series, the other was defined as the "we love Diablo but it's time to try something new" team. After throwing around various ideas, the team settled on the idea of making a "Diablo clone," but as a space opera. The project thus earned the nickname "Starblo" due to its mix of a space setting and Diablo's ARPG formula.