Auto battler

In an auto battler you place units on a chess-like board during a preparation phase, then watch them fight without further input. Several players compete as individuals, one eliminated after another, much as in a battle royale.

Where the name comes from

No first use of the name has been found; IGN wrote in July 2019 that “everyone’s talking about the Auto Battler genre”. Sources say Dota Auto Chess, a Dota 2 mod released by Drodo Studio in January 2019, created the genre; others trace it back to Legion TD, a Warcraft III map by Lisk from around 2008.

Where the edges are

The origin is split between Legion TD and Dota Auto Chess, and the name between auto battler and auto chess. The mod quickly spawned rival versions, Drodo’s standalone Auto Chess and Valve’s own Dota Underlords, and the format has since moved into card games and mobile games such as Hearthstone Battlegrounds.

Key auto battler games

Each game links to its article; the last column links to the source that puts it in the genre.

Related genres: MOBA, Roguelike deckbuilder.

At a glance

Parent genre

Strategy

Origin

Dota Auto Chess (2019)

Also called

Auto chess

Sources

Checked November 3, 2026.

1. Auto battler — Wikipedia
2. An Introduction to the Auto Chess Genre — IGN
3. Dota Auto Chess — Wikipedia