Dota Auto Chess player count rises to 5 million

Dota’s fan-made phenomenon continues to grow. Dota Auto Chess now boasts more than five million subscribers, and a concurrent player count that would make it one of Steam’s most-played games in its own right.

The custom game mode’s page on Steam says that it now boasts more than 5.2 million subscribers. That’s a huge figure, but it’s made more impressive by the mode’s phenomenal growth – Dota Auto Chess hit 4 million subcribers just a couple of weeks ago, meaning it’s gained more than a million players in an impressively short time frame.

A post on Reddit suggests that the game’s concurrent player count also continues to rise. That post shows off a figure of 140,000, which would put Auto Chess comfortably within Steam’s top five. PUBG, CS:GO, and Dota 2 itself beat it into the top three, but it would likely claim fourth place, ahead of GTA V, Warframe, and Rainbow Six Siege.

Despite the name, Dota Auto Chess has little in common with either the acclaimed MOBA or the ancient board game. Earlier this year, Ian took a look for himself, and put together a brief explainer. While you’ll benefit from a little Dota knowledge, it’s not completely necessary, as Auto Chess has more in common with a turn-based strategy title.

All told, it seems pretty complicated, particularly for a fan-made project. It features its own levelling system, draws on Dota’s existing roster, and requires you to balance resources over several rounds, all while other players are competing to do the same. That said, it’s clearly not putting people off.

The mode has likely been helped along by the wider community. Dota 2 pros and streamers are showcasing their efforts, and VPEsports says that CS:GO players are also getting in on the action.

Chinese publisher Tencent has suggested it’s interested in bringing Dota Auto Chess to mobile, but its developers say they have no plans to bring it to a new platform or to sell the concept on. In a recent Reddit AMA, they also say that Valve has been in contact, and that they’re planning to bring matchmaking and a replay mode to the game.