Dota Underlords beta rockets to 170,000 players after one day

Just 24 hours after the launch of the game’s open beta, Dota Underlords has hit more than 170,000 concurrent players.

Dota Underlords is a standalone game inspired by the immense popularity of Dota Auto Chess. The game was initially released exclusively to Battle Pass owners. Battle Pass owners were also rewarded with three “friends beta keys” to share with others.

Valve revealed the future of Auto Chess in a May blog post on the game.

“Valve and Drodo could not work directly with each other for a variety of reasons. We ended up agreeing that we’ll each build our own stand-alone version of the game, and support each other to the fullest,” Valve said at the time.

Drodo Studio has since released their own PC and mobile version of Dota Auto Chess under the name of “Auto Chess.” The game’s mechanics are identical to those of Dota Auto Chess, but names were changed and heroes were remastered. The game has seen continued success following the careful transition from Dota 2 client to a standalone version.

On the other hand, Dota Underlords built hype in both the Dota 2 and Auto Chess communities. Valve’s take to the famed Dota Auto Chess will be tested during the game’s early access period.

There are no changes being made to the game’s core mechanics, but there are a lot of added features. After every loot round from neutral creeps, players can now choose from three different items.

There are also global items available that can enhance the perks of each hero synergy. This will greatly help players to better determine the squads they’re trying to build.

Heroes from Dota Auto Chess were retained in Dota Underlords. Pudge and Warlock were newly added from the hero pool.

Dota Underlords is available on PC, iOS, and Android. The game features cross-play and cross-platform progression, so players will not be restricted to play on any one platform.

According to Valve, the open beta will last for a few months. The game will undergo several enhancements during this time based on community feedback.