In November 2018, Valve released the card game Artifact. However, this game turned out to be a flop. Now, the company behind Steam wants to do everything differently and is orienting itself towards an already successful project.
What is Valve planning? In a blog post, the software company announced yesterday evening that they are working on a standalone version of Dota 2 Auto Chess. There was already a meeting in February with the Chinese developer of the mod, Drodo Games.
Even though the talks were likely productive, they could not completely agree. Drodo Games is now intensively working on the development of a mobile version of Auto Chess, which our author Alexander Leitsch calls the perfect mobile game. However, this version runs without the Dota license.
Valve itself is now planning a standalone version of Dota 2 Auto Chess. More information is expected soon. A possible date could be The International 9, a huge Dota 2 tournament in August in Shanghai.
Auto Chess has over 8.5 million subscribers on Steam
How successful is Auto Chess? Dota 2 Auto Chess is a huge success on Steam. The mod has over 8.5 million subscribers, and since March there is even a dedicated game category for it on Twitch.
Just yesterday, on May 21, this category reached the highest value for average viewers per day, with an impressive 23,187, according to Sullygnomes. At this moment, on May 22 at 2:40 PM, more than 18,000 people are watching Auto Chess on the streaming platform. It ranks at least 10th in various categories on Twitch.
Unlike Valve’s card game Artifact, which lost half of its player base after just one week, Auto Chess continues to grow positively. Even Valve writes in the blog post that they have “roughly played Auto Chess a billion times”.
Why is the mod so successful? The Auto Chess developed by the Chinese developer Drodo Games is particularly well-received due to its tactical content, ranking system, and balance among players.
Many famous Hearthstone streamers regularly check in on the game, and there have already been the first larger tournaments.
How do I get into the game? Auto Chess is relatively easy to understand at first but gains more depth over time. Then it’s about finding the right combinations, saving gold, or looking for the right figure in a more aggressive manner.
In our overview of Dota 2 Auto Chess, we reveal how you can install the mod and take your first steps in the game:
