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Library/Game/Dota Auto Chess
Grade B20 sourcesHIS-00460

Dota Auto Chess

Game · 2019 · Notable

57Editable slideCertificate

Drodo Studio's free Dota 2 mod Dota Auto Chess passed 8 million subscribers by April 2019.

Auto Chess: What is it, and Why is it Such a Big Deal?
Gamesight
Steam Workshop::DOTA AUTO CHESS
Drodo Studio
This new Dota 2 custom mode is way more popular than Artifact
PCGamesN
A Dota 2 custom mode may be 2019’s most popular new game
PC Gamer
Auto Chess: The custom game mod taking over Dota 2 & Twitch
Esports Insider
Dota Auto Chess Is The Fourth Most Popular Game On Steam, Reaches Over Four Million Players
Game Informer
Auto Chess now is a standalone category on Twitch
Inven Global
The skyrocketing rise of Auto Chess, a Dota 2 custom map that became one of the year's biggest games
GamesRadar+
Dota Auto Chess player count tops eight million
PCGamesN
Valve adds the Auto Chess Pass: get extra rewards for just $0.99 per month
Inven Global
2019 started as the year of the autobattler. But did it end that way too?
Inven Global

Spread Score

How it works
Reach71Contagion65Breadth50Velocity43Longevity3857

Numbers

Concurrent players (Game Informer)
300K
As of Feb 16, 2019 · Game Informer
Seed to peak
6 weeks
Jan 3 ’19 to Feb 16 ’19
Platforms
4
Started on Open web
Origin
Seeded
Gaming

Mechanics

  • Creator relayPrimary
  • Platform jump
  • Dupe economy
  • Underdog
  • Press loop

How it spread

Trace the origin

Dota Auto Chess spread through Dota’s free Arcade and streamers from several game communities. Drodo prepared translations and a player-reference tool in January. Gamesight later traced its selected creators’ earlier games, documenting a broader relay than Hearthstone alone.

Wikipedia views · Google searchesDec ’18Feb ’19MarAprMayJunAugNovApr ’20AugDecPeakOpen webPressXTwitch
Open webPressXTwitch

15 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

Timeline (18)

  1. January 2019

    Drodo Studio seed · Jan 3 ’19

    Drodo Studio posted DOTA AUTO CHESS to the Steam Workshop.[1]

    Steam Workshop::DOTA AUTO CHESS
    Open the first post ↗

  2. PC Gamer press · Jan 13 ’19

    PC Gamer reported the mod reached 100,000 concurrent players that day and had over 670,000 subscribers.[2][3]

    A Dota 2 custom mode may be 2019’s most popular new game
    100K concurrent

  3. Matthew Bailey platform jump · Jan 13 ’19

    PCGamesN linked a Twitter explainer of the mod by Matthew Bailey.[3]

Origin
Seeded
Sector
Gaming
Region
CN
Concurrent players (Game Informer)
300K
As of Feb 16, 2019 · Game Informer
Evidence
Grade B

Spread the same way

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Lethal Company on Steam

$5.7M revenue

Mordhau

Open web · 2019

56
Armoured fighters in Mordhau, official Steam gameplay screenshot

2M sold

R.E.P.O.

Open web · 2025

54
R.E.P.O. on Steam

$25.5M revenue

The Exit 8

Open web · 2023

41
Official game screenshot showing the tiled corridor, Exit 8 sign and walking businessman.

3M sold

New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.

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Wikipedia views · Google searchesDec ’18Feb ’19MarAprMayJunAugNovApr ’20AugDecPeakOpen webPressXTwitch
Open webPressXTwitch

15 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

  1. January 2019

    Drodo Studio seed · Jan 3 ’19

    Drodo Studio posted DOTA AUTO CHESS to the Steam Workshop.[1]

    Steam Workshop::DOTA AUTO CHESS
    Open the first post ↗

  2. PC Gamer press · Jan 13 ’19

    PC Gamer reported the mod reached 100,000 concurrent players that day and had over 670,000 subscribers.[2][3]

    A Dota 2 custom mode may be 2019’s most popular new game
    100K concurrent

  3. Matthew Bailey platform jump · Jan 13 ’19

    PCGamesN linked a Twitter explainer of the mod by Matthew Bailey.[3]

  1. owner response · Jan 18 ’19

  2. owner response · Jan 18 ’19

Join free to see the other 15 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

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Why it worked

Do this

  1. 1
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  3. 3

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