Auto Chess has picked up the Google award for the most innovative game of 2019.
Last summer, autobattlers became all the rage. The popular Dota 2 mod, Dota Auto Chess, was taking over the Dota landscape and introduced the world to the “autobattler” genre. After that, both Valve and Riot Games announced their own autobattlers, while the original Auto Chess moved on to become an Epic exclusive title.
At E3, Chinese developer Drodo Studio announced the partnership with Epic to create the standalone version of Auto Chess. Since Dota Auto Chess used Dota 2’s characters, skins, and assets, Drodo’s version had to be built from the ground up using the original as a concept.
The standalone Auto Chess arrived first on mobile last April, and then came out on Windows PC in July. Dota Underlords and Teamfight Tactics arrived at around the same time with slightly different rules, but Auto Chess remained the top autobattler game--especially in China, where mobile gaming is king.
Along with being the most played autobattler, Auto Chess is now being recognized by Google for being the game that started it all. In a tweet on Wednesday, Drodo announced that Google had awarded them the 2019 Best Innovative Game trophy.
"When we found out that we had been nominated as a candidate for the Google Play 2019 Game Awards, our hearts were full of excitement and emotion," Drodo said in a statement. "We were super excited to be shortlisted for this global and authoritative award, and have our achievements recognized by the public.
“We have always dreamed of making a great game, a high-quality and fun game that can be recognized by the public. We have worked hard in order to make these dreams come true. We know that there are still some flaws with Auto Chess, but we strongly believe that we can always use our passion and diligence to continue making the game better and better.”
Auto Chess has come a long way in a very short amount of time. A nascent esports scene has already leaped up around Auto Chess, with the first invitational tournament already happening last August. The GLL Auto Chess Invitational wrapped up earlier in October with a prize pool of $1,000,000.
Source: Drodo Studios