Anauto battler, also known asauto chess, is a subgenre ofstrategy video games that typically featurechess-like elements where players place characters on a grid-shaped battlefield during a preparation phase, who then fight the opposing team's characters without any further direct input from the player.
The genre was popularized byLegion TD in late 2000s[citation needed] and saw other games in the genre released soon after by more established studios, such asDota Auto Chess,Teamfight Tactics,Dota Underlords, andHearthstone's Battlegrounds.
Auto battler games typically feature multiple players competing against each other as individuals, similar to abattle royale. Each player fields a team of units, sometimes called minions, with the player tasked with assembling the strongest possible team. Once each player has selected some initial units, players are paired off randomly for a series of 1-versus-1 battles. In combat, both players' units are placed on the board and automatically battle each other, typically without player input. When one team is completely defeated, with none of that player's units able to continue fighting, the loser takes a penalty to their hit points, and the game moves on to the next phase.[1][2] After the battle phase, at the start of each round, players buy units, which can be combined to make stronger versions of the same units. Units may be divided into multiple categories, with combat bonuses awarded for stacking multiple units of the same type. If a player loses all their health, they are eliminated from the match.[3]
Around 2008, theWarcraft III custom mapLegion TD, created by the player Lisk, helped kick off this genre: each round, players spend resources to deploy units to defend their king and attack the opposing king.[4][non-primary source needed]
In January 2019, a group of Chinese developers known as Drodo Studio releasedDota Auto Chess, a community-made customgame mode forDota 2.[5] The popularity of themod, with it having over eight million players by May 2019, led to the creation of the genre that had a number of other games being released.[6] The first games of the genre were initially developed as a game modes for already established video games, such asTeamfight Tactics fromRiot Games, released within theirMOBA gameLeague of Legends.[7][8] Later in 2019, both Drodo Studio andValve developed their own standalone versions,Auto Chess andDota Underlords, respectively.[9][10] In November 2019,Blizzard Entertainment introduced their own take on the genre,Battlegrounds, in their card gameHearthstone.[11][12]
In the years since, a number of games have joined the genre, particularly within the indie studio space. Such games includeSuper Auto Pets,Storybook Brawl,Backpack Battles,Teamfight Manager,Yi Xian, andThe Bazaar.[citation needed]
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