The auto chess wars have begun Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. The auto chess wars have begun Whose move is it next? News by Wesley Yin-Poole Deputy Editorial Director Updated on 22 Jun 2019 32 comments The auto chess wars have begun. Sparked by the surprise success of the Dota auto chess mod, created by Chinese team Drodo Studio, a number of big-name publishers and developers have quickly turned around efforts of their own - and they're proving early doors big hits. Auto chess games are "auto battlers", that is, they're turn-based competitive multiplayer strategy games in which you send units out onto a board divided up into squares, then the combat plays out automatically. There's more to the genre than this, of course, but that's essentially it. Riot Games, maker of MOBA League of Legends, made a strong early move with the release of Teamfight Tactics, an auto chess game set in the world of League. Teamfight Tactics proved enormously popular from the moment it was released, and is already one of the most popular games on Twitch. At the time of this article's publication, Teamfight Tactics has more viewers than Fortnite and, suitably, League of Legends. Teamfight Tactics is hugely popular on Twitch. Drodo Studio, which is making a standalone version of Dota Auto Chess sans the Dota elements to be sold exclusively on the Epic Games store, has already launched a flank attack with the release of Auto Chess on mobile. Dota Underlords is off to a flyer. And now Valve has entered the battle with Dota Underlords - and it's already off to a flyer. At the time of this article's publication, it was the fourth most-popular game on Steam, ahead of the likes of Rainbow Six: Siege and Grand Theft Auto 5 with an impressive 185,000 concurrent players. Dota Underlords has already outstripped the popularity of the ill-fated Artefact, and looks like it could be the next big Valve game. There's a circle of life element to Underlords I find quite delicious, too. Here we have a Valve-made game (Dota Underlords) based on a mod (Dota Auto Chess) for a Valve-made game (Dota 2), which was itself based on a mod (Defence of the Ancients). Video games! So, we've got Valve, Epic and Riot going toe-to-toe in the initial stages of the auto chess war. But who else could enter the fray? I expect any big game company with a universe packed with recognisable heroes could have a stab at it. Blizzard, with its army of hero units from the likes of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo and Overwatch, seems like an obvious candidate. Could Epic have a go, with its various Fortnite characters? And what about the console players, Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony? It's early days, and the auto chess wars have just begun. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 5 Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 11 Latest Articles Digital Foundry Sennheiser's legendary HD 599 open-back headphones are just £70 at Amazon in the Prime Early Access Sale Comfortable with neutral sound and a wide sound stage. Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. 1 Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 61 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store