Developer now working on its own version of the mode.
Valve has announced it’s working on a standalone version of Dota Auto Chess, the immensely popular Dota custom mode created by Drodo Studio.
In its official blog post, Valve details how its hopeless addiction to Drodo Studio’s custom mode led to an inevitable conversation between the two developers.
”After we played the game, roughly 1 billion times, it was pretty clear that we should reach out to the creators, Drodo Studio, and start a conversation about working together.”
Valve flew the Drodo team over from China to chat about the future of Auto Chess and to see if it wanted to collaborate on the mode. However, both parties decided that it wasn’t possible to work directly with each other “for a variety of reasons”.
After some discussion, both studios agreed that it’ll each build its own standalone version of the game and support each other moving forward. Having received “Drodo’s blessing”, Valve has started working on Dota Auto Chess, while Drodo will continue focusing on Auto Chess Mobile.
This doesn’t mean Dota Auto Chess will come to a standstill while Valve works on its own version, though. In the same blog post, Drodo reassured players that it will continue updating the custom mode and “attempt to design new modes and adaptations” in the meantime.
The news will come as a surprise to many, but there’s an inevitability to it all too. Dota Auto Chess’ staggering popularity would’ve signalled Valve to get in on the action, and it helps that the mode is based off its own franchise too.
From our perspective, it’s great news. First and foremost, it’s a relief to hear that Drodo Studio hasn’t been parred off and its mobile version of Auto Chess will likely be an enormous success, especially in the Chinese market.
Valve’s bottomless budget and knack for getting competitive games right (alright, Artifact was a blunder) should also see the mode taken to new heights. Think officially sanctioned tournaments, regular content drops and tonnes of polish.
