PC games giants Valve and Riot are once again chasing the success of a popular mod.
Both companies are working on their own versions of Dota 2 mod Auto Chess. This add-on from Drodo Studios attracted millions of players following its launch in mid-January 2019.
Valve's take on this new game type is called Dota Underlords, with that project already being in beta as of yesterday (Thursday, June 13th).
"A few weeks ago we posted about our love of Auto Chess and how we were working on our own standalone version of it. In that same post we promised we would share information about the game soon. As it turns out, “soon” is today," the Steam giant wrote.
"Dota Underlords is a new stand-alone game that pits you against seven opponents in a battle of wits that will have you building, combining, and leveling-up a crew in a battle of dominance for the city of White Spire. In this game, victory is determined not by twitch reflexes, but by superior tactics."
No doubt Valve is hoping that this Dota spin-off goes better than the last. Card game Artifact rolled out at the end of 2018 and after a reasonable start has a very small playerbase.
Meanwhile, Riot has simply said that it'll be bringing the mode to its League of Legends MOBA under the name Teamfight Tactics.
"Recently, we've been trying different kinds of modes that are deep and unique additions to the League experience," Riot said.
"TFT is our next big exploration in that space and the first time we’re jumping into a different genre. We’ve always loved strategy games and recently we’ve gotten into the new auto-battler genre—folks around the office have been playing an insane amount of Dota Auto Chess in particular. We love it, and it actually got us inspired to create something new as a mode in League.
"We’re building this one with you. TFT’s initial launch is a beta, so expect it to be a work in progress as we work all of the kinks out. Every step of the way we’ll be listening closely to your experiences and feedback, so please let us know what you think. For our part, we’ll be in frequent contact via dev articles, updates and patch notes."
