If you haven’t yet heard ofDota Auto Chess, there’s a good chance you aren’t frequenting theÂDota 2Âcommunity. However, the game may not be limited to those niche communities for long. With many chiming in thatÂDota Auto ChessÂis “one of the fastest growing games in 2019,” a couple questions remain: what is it, why is it so popular, and is all the hype real?The hype forÂDota Auto ChessÂis a relatively slow burn, though it is getting noticed slowly by larger outlets. Earlier today, Director of esports group Team Secret made a point that it is one of the fastest growing games of 2010 and “the majority of the gaming industry have [sic.] no idea it exists”:
For those coming into this article fresh,ÂDota Auto ChessÂis a Steam Workshop custom game of the ever-popular Valve MOBA,ÂDota 2. The custom game launched on January 4, 2019 making it firmly a 2019 title. Despite the name being “chess” and having the game set on a checkered black and white background, the custom game created by Chinese developer Drodo Studios is anything but.
The objective ofDota Auto ChessÂis to be the last remaining player of eight, a task achieved by surviving with 100 HP. Each round, players will purchase pieces to place on the map and will faceoff against creeps that generate on the battlefield. As your units die, they carve away at your HP until you are knocked out. Aside from the light intro, the game offers a ton of depth (race, class, player synergy) and strategy wildly differing from the mainlineÂDota 2Âgameplay.
A day ago, Valve addedÂDota Auto ChessÂto the officialÂDota 2Âclient’s front panel– a big step, considering thelast update entirely broke the custom game mode. Both theÂDota 2ÂTwitch streamers and a sizable chunk of players are diving headfirst into the game mode, with no sign of slowing.
On the other hand, others are casting doubt on whetherÂDota Auto ChessÂis truly as popular as it is being advertised, with many pointing to previous bugs that have inflated numbers in the past. In a Reddit post titled “PSA: Stop hyping up AUTO CHESS player numbers, they are most likely bugged,” aÂDota 2Âcustom game creator offers his own skepticism. Pointing to both previous trends of custom games and experiences with bugs in the past, the custom creator concludes that a bug prevents many custom games from timely ending, bolstering concurrent players.
Whether that is true or not,ÂDota Auto ChessÂis becoming the new way to playÂDota 2.ÂFollowing the recent ban of17K smurfing accounts and cheaters, there is no better time to jump into the MOBA.ÂDota 2Âis exclusively available on PC, and both the main game andÂDota Auto ChessÂare free of charge.
