The history of Auto Chess is convoluted. What started as Dota Auto Chess, a popular mod by Drodo Studio, based on Valve's own mod-turned-standalone IP, grew into two standalone games, as Valve announced Dota Underlords back in May. The Early Access version of Dota Underlords launched in June during E3 2019, just as Drodo Studio announced an exclusive PC distribution deal with the Epic Games Store for Auto Chess, currently also in beta. Now, Drodo Studio is announcing the upcoming release for Auto Chess on the PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch.
The console publishing deal will be part of the partnership with publisher Dragonest. During a fan even in Tokyo, Dragonest CEO Loring Lee talked about the future of Dota Chess with Japanese fans. According to Lee, the console version will be crucial to attract new players in Japan. Dragonest is also publishing the mobile version of Auto Chess, available on the App Store and Google Play. In fact, the next update for the mobile version will release in October, and it will include support for a spectator feature, as well as voice-over commentary in Japanese, adding to the already available Chinese and English voice-overs.
Other features planned for future updates include an in-game voice chat feature for Duo Battles; 4v4 PvP; a tournament feature for large groups up to 64, where players receive automatic scores following their rank; match replay; and balancing of item availability, with adjustments for synthesis method.
Dota Underlords has become a fairly popular title with Western audiences, but it's very possible for both games to coexist in the same markets. As of now, Valve hasn't announced any plans to port Dota Underlords to consoles, but the game is also available for mobile devices on the App Store and Google Play.
Are you looking forward to try Auto Chess on the Nintendo Switch and/or PlayStation 4, or are you satisfied with the PC and mobile versions? Leave your comments below!
