Death of a Game: DOTA Underlords

[Music] thank you there might not be a more out of nowhere video  game genre than the auto chess and auto Battlers   on yes including evenly similar also started as  a mod MOBA genre both of these genres would grow   from the depths of the mod world of each of their  respective games Auto chests are dubbed DOTA Auto   chess under their mod name was developed by jodo  Studio taking inspiration from chess Majong and   naturally the namesake DOTA 2. DOTA Auto chess  was a mod within Dota 2 and within the same year   it hit the web as a mod and saw over 8 million  users who would also launch an early access in   June of 2019 dubbed DOTA underlords reaching  millions of Gamers on PC and mobile platforms   within the next year three more major competitors  would launch to rival DOTA underlords such as Riot   games as teamfight tactics Activision blizzards  Hearthstone Battlegrounds and finally the title   made from the original creators of the mod  Auto chess DOTA underlords might have had a   meteoric rise to fame spun in the creation of  a new industry essentially but to fell victim   to being the first in many ways and within the  first year of the game's life cycle lost over   80 percent of its population according to steam  charts it's been nearly two years since valve   has updated DOTA underlords now which has  many fans of the game Left saying that the   game is practically dead or trending towards that  direction and typical valve fashion with no good   ending in sight for DOTA underlords as it faces  yet more valve abandonment like a child it never   loved he finds itself featured on this episode of  death of a game as we try to diagnose the largest   contributing factors to the death of a game of  the auto chess battler DOTA underlords grab your   board Your Heroes and your pieces and let's  get involved in this unique blend of strategy   RNG and your parents never loved you syndrome  of a story detectives we have a case to solve foreign hello everybody and thank you to geology for  sponsoring this video again geology is a 15   time award-winning personalized skin care company  recognized in men's health a squire and ask Men's   Grooming Awards they have six thousand plus  five star reviews which obviously show that   people love the product geology creates a simple  and effective skin care and hair routine that's   customized just for you with ingredients that are  proven to work the products are built 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just on Steam in   the Western World DOTA 2's success hasn't stopped  yet and is simply undeniable January 2019 we   would see history repeat itself when a talented  chinese-based developer jodo Studio would launch   a mod on Dota 2 dubbed DOTA Auto chess this mod  much like DOTA did originally as a Warcraft 3   mod ironically would change the fate of the video  game industry going forward DOTA Auto chess would   rack up a massive 670 000 players in no time  a hundred thousand being daily active players   these numbers weren't mod numbers anymore they  were AAA gaming numbers and this was with a poor   translation available too as the mod was made and  played primarily in Chinese like Dota 2 DOTA Auto   chess was free but besides utilizing the same  world and lore that's where the similarities is   kind of end in fact although chess is the name  DOTA Auto chess barely resembles actual chess   besides being on a board which is actually eight  by eight and being strategic I guess drodo Studio   would state that Majong was actually more of a  proper influence as well as the classic Warcraft   3 mod hero line Wars and then Legion TD play is  based around drafting hands of Heroes combining   them to upgrade them and then deploying them  correctly to win victories over eight other   players in a series of one-on-one matches each  round of the game you're drafted a random hand   of Heroes that you can buy using gold you've  accumulated those heroes are then deployed to the   grid and fight battles against each other if you  have three of the same hero you can also create a   more powerful version of it the complexity comes  primarily from The Game's drafting phase which is   timed and happens simultaneously with the other  players with a limited amount of hero counts the   strategy consists of trying to beat your enemies  as easily and cheaply as possible but since DOTA   Auto chess was round based he wanted to be careful  with how much gold you were going to spend every   round either a clone of another player's board or  a neutral creep would appear on your board they   would fight and if you kill them you are granted  more gold if your units die you lose HP and the   live enemy units and the board get to reset to  pre-fight repeat this for every round until a   Victor is essentially selected the ultimate  uniqueness of Auto chess in the auto battler   genre comes from games never playing the same  way due to a combination of RNG Variety in the   draft we just mentioned and strategy on top of the  game not requiring any kind of mechanical skill   at all which was a stark contrast to the MOBA  industry theoretically it was much more accessible DOTA Auto Chess By 2019 of April would rack  up an impressive 8 million players suddenly   once again we were in a Warcraft 3 defense of  the ancient situation the developers of the   mod were looking to create a game of their  own and valve was interested in teaming up   with them sounds like deja vu the two would not  find proper terms though with no evidence being   stated as to why though my guess is monetization  functions kind of differently in the west versus   the East and you'll see that later on with auto  chess once it releases instead what would happen   was jodo's Studio would go on to create their own  Auto chess title dubbed literally just Auto chess   fair enough you kind of created the industry  meanwhile valve would continue full steam ahead   with the rights to their DOTA name and characters  and create a DOTA based Auto chess later dubbed   DOTA underlords our very subject matter of the  video again a weird similarity exists here with   this genre in the MOBA genre where blizzard and  valve not only made separate mobas that competed   against each other they even had legal battles  over the name Auto chess would have its open   Beta in April 2019 being the first Auto battler  to the market and would always be destined to   be a thorn in the side of DotA underlords  trotto's Auto chess would launch on PC as   an epic exclusive set later in the year this  created much like the MOBA scene an incredibly   interesting situation where almost immediately you  have two titles that are destined for competition   between each other and valve androta wouldn't  be the only one set to since the birth of a   new genre Riot and Activision also got whiffs of  the thing as well and at this point it was now a   rush to the market for the giant corporations  trying to cash in on the birth of a new genre   competition was incredibly Fierce and things  were going to get ugly amongst these competing   titles but over the summer of 2019 seemingly  overnight the auto chess genre had arrived   DOTA underlords which strikes seconds launching  An Early Access June 2019. DOTA underlords would   feature a quite similar approach to the original  Mod and subsequent game Auto chess in fact   PC Gamer would state that besides underlord's  Superior visuals can Auto chess's Superior game   client and UI the game's identical some Heroes  even had the same abilities PC Gamer would warn   that the two titles being similar was warring for  valve as jodo had heavily updated their game in a   short amount of time already pacing themselves  in some ways from DOTA underlorns Gamespot one   of the few Outlets to actually cover the game  would give it an impressive 9 out of 10 stating   that the game's strengths came from the parody  and no game ever playing the same way as well   as the Strategic depth present in the game that  made outplaying your opponents quite satisfying   the largest negatives were also related to the  positives in the sense that the RNG was decried   but alas that's kind of the whole idea of the auto  chess genre despite the alluring of it sounding so   strategic due to having chess and name within  a day DOTA underlords was already beating their   valve stablemate artifacts numbers a video I  also covered on the series so check that out   you might also learn a few clues for this episode  within the first week of the game there was 200   000 active players and 1.5 million downloads did  valve once again beat competitors to the punch   like they did with DOTA for the most successful  Auto battler this time boom yeah I'm making a   sound effect to signify what happens next and  when I say next I'm talking mere days Riot   games would launch an auto chess game of their  own featuring their extensive champions in lore   teamfight tactics as it was dubbed launched the  26th of June of 2019 TFT as often dubbed would   take the World by storm obtaining an even larger  fan base than dodeunderlords the main differences   between the games would be that TFT would focus  a lot more on items and customization to affect   your board and the fact that it was a six player  game versus an 8 player game in Dota Underlord   TFT smartly chose to make something unique enough  as to not closely be compared to the founder in   the genre Auto chess and the results were amazing  TFT wasn't the only Auto battler giving DOTA   underlord's trouble either sure we know about Auto  chess but there's also hearthstone's Battlegrounds   which would attempt a version of their own  this is what corporations do ultimately they   use their immense power and resources to follow  a trend way faster than anyone else really can   DOTA underlord's first major update would  come August 13 2019 and it introduced ranked   achievements One Versus One a casual mode for  those not interested in hardcore competition   there were a number of positive changes that came  from this update at this point DOTA underlords Was   An Early Access title which meant that its major  updates to come first would be more likely to put   the game into a more complete Game whether or not  valve would keep up their update schedule though   and Dota underlords or du would get to that  completed State though was a serious question   meanwhile their competition and creator of the  genre Auto chess was officially launching August   23rd with a better UI than their competitors and  a more consistent client on all platforms another   serious competitor enters the picture perhaps the  most serious jota Studio's dedication to updating   their game was outmatched outperforming even Riot  games which seemed to be a key component of the   auto chess genre to keep the gameplay fresh and  novel to an extent the course of history for DOTA   on the Lords including the balance history would  make a massive change on their second major update   October 22nd 2019. they would introduce their  biggest gameplay change yet underlords as the   game was named after two underlords an Essex and  hobkin would be released the October 2019 update   would feature a Duo mode for matchmaking and the  much appreciated jail system which would help   rotate out Heroes every 24 hours this kept the  meta from getting too stale but while the jail   system was seen positively the Underlord were  almost always controversial as it greatly added   more mechanics and strategy to the game there's  a careful balance there because although DOTA   underlords was strategic and it was sold that way  if they went too strategic they might lose the   more casual audience or frustrate the player base  once they bring them in which is the lifeblood of   such a genre Val would largely undo this progress  when they would remove the jail system December   2019 as well as introduce a powerful hybrid  Underlord named Joel according to the patch notes   and Steam Reviews the jewel update is described as  a significant change in the game's vision and flow   of combat and du's last major update Jewel  for some fans was the beginning of the end   whether that was because there was not many more  underlords that were released after or because it   changed the balance in a way that turned many  players off dodundalords might be a strategic   game but a valve wanted to maintain that they  were going to have to constantly keep updating   and balancing the game something they weren't  proving keen on doing riot games reportedly   was firing off updates time and time again as  we said previously the jewel update is when we   see a slow in the content for DOTA underlords  as population dwindles to a peak of just 20 000   players was the game as a service neutering DOTA  underlords past the point of repair due to them   having to have minimums on when content can be  delivered on based around a battle pass which is   seasonal monetization this is something that has  plagued many gas titles before there's something   to be said about this as the game was free and was  relying on things like the aforementioned battle   pass and skins to survive with the population  already so low there were concerns that DOTA   Underlord would ever even get to its best state  DOTA underlord's last Underlord was launched   in January of 2020 dubbed Inno which kind of  answers our concerns or heightens them right   DOTA underlords would have its official launch  February 25th 2020 where would introduce the   battle pass for season one which was accompanied  with the story campaign mission where you would   unlock rewards for your battle pass they would  also introduce puzzles and new items the city   crawl content was good content introducing single  player content for the first time to the game but   the game launched with none and this was his first  story update so it felt like a little bit too late   for the beginning of 2020. DOTA underlord's New  Blood on the street update would add a number of   new Heroes and alliances as well as returning some  of them to the fold this update would also include   the rank reset as well as rotate out a number of  items and heroes it seems that even though valve   got rid of the jail system they were still forcing  the hand of variety and rotating heroes in and out   themselves this feels like a mixed message to me  this update would increase the population though   just only slightly to a very low 12 000 Peak  players now DOTA underlord's last update would   come November 19 2020 which was a few Alliance  and hero balance updates DOTA underlords would   struggle through 2020 ending with a population  peak of 8 000 Peak players like we always say   on the series when covering a game as a service  once the player base starts to dry up it seals   the deal for the content schedule that was  promised going forward for AAA developed game   in a hilarious bit of closing off the time Loop  Johto Studio would announce their desire to create   a MOBA of their own January 19 2021 jodo would  State a desire to use their high quality models   from Auto chess and put them to purpose in a  MOBA which they described as ultimately their   Roots jodo's title would likely be like Auto  chess focused in the Eastern Market but DOTA   underlords would continue at this time to drop  in population now down to just 6 300 players Peak   by the end of that same year valve had through the  use of the classic valve euphemism extended season   1 end date to 2031 which is Clayton States the  writer for PC Gamer is effectively the same as the   game being put into maintenance mode as the season  1 would be stretched essentially indefinitely Or   sorry to 2031 one year and six months later DOTA  Underlord would have its content cycle severed   and see no more major or even minor updates in  classic Val fashion they had quietly given up on   the game much like they did with artifact as well  the I hope everyone just sort of forgets things   but since this isn't their first time doing it I  truly believe that not giving du proper support   was a huge blow to the community's perception  and approval of valve as a developer at this   point it's fairly unlikely for them to do such  a trend chasing development job again they've   had pretty disastrous results watoto underlords  was essentially shelved teamfight tactics one   of their biggest competitors was still shining in  August of 20 t22 with reports of over 80 million   players 2.5 billion hours played and more than 10  million mobile downloads while arguably you could   say that the competition was over some time ago  by the fall of 2022 it seemed to be all but a done   deal TFT had dominated DOTA underlords managing to  outperform them significantly having such a direct   competitor outperform you in such a way was a  death blow for DOTA underlords because they didn't   just lose a TFT they also lost to Auto chess  du Came Out Swinging sure but was promptly put   down and out within a short amount of time but the  population down to at this time a staggeringly low   3 000 players before we get to the final deduction  with that catchy detective music we should cover   something that was hinted at throughout the video  with valve abandoning DOTA underlords there has to   be another question asked much like with artifact  which was seemingly trying to cash in on the ccg   craze the question is where was the passion where  was the dedication and willingness to stick it out   and try if I'm being absolutely charitable perhaps  it's an issue of monetization and how that affects   design and content even if developers want to keep  working on it and inject more content because they   chose to use a game as a service model they were  unable to but I have to wager that some of this is   also because of a lack of passion after all the  original team working on DOTA Auto chess wasn't   the team working on the game the developers were  primarily Dota 2 developers which besides a nice   paycheck might not have the same enthusiasm to  work on a game they didn't necessarily choose   compare this to TFT who is much more practice  at doing this or Auto chess the original devs   and passion just seems severely lacking in the  case of DotA underlords and that very likely has   a lot of effects like stifling Innovation and well  the willingness to go further than most something   else I want to cover too is a difference between  creating real hype and Manufacturing artificial   hype with the auto chess genre we have one that  sprang up faster than even the MOBA genre did but   this time the corporations were ready for it  they put their plans into action much earlier   than before a proper Community was really even  created the mod wasn't even out for a year right   and even if a proper Community was created they  were splintered off into so many other games so   in a sense DOTA underlords had little Community  from the first place just what was left from jota   Studios and maybe the interest from that in the  genre DOTA underlords managed to create a massive   amount of artificial hype whether through name  recognition advertising budget and Etc but they   didn't do it through the strength of the community  and the game they're in you might get an audience   from doing that but they won't be very loyal which  is not helpful in an online multiplayer game you   have to treat your audience like more than just  customers and uh DOTA underlords just didn't do   that [Music] that music oh it's so good to hear  that music again that means that we have obtained   enough Clues and evidence thus far in the video  to prepare our final deduction and put the case   to bed of why DOTA underlords failed lacked  passion and felt mostly like a trend chaser   didn't have proper content support and was  abandoned conflicting gay message and theme   original creator of the mod became  their biggest competitor alongside TFT   artificially created hype and a poor community  [Music] valve has passion they have a track record   while old and ancient at this point that's existed  at some point right it's it's out there the new   valve the more corporatized and steam store  successful valve has more interest in making   money it seems versus the straight art aspects  that they were kind of known for including with   their engine while some might say that this should  be well how a company gets especially when it's   trying to scale up valve has routinely shown the  weaknesses of this shift when attempting to make   cash in titles that chase the cheddar they don't  have the passion or content schedule dedication   to stick the games out or have shown it yet and  they merely want to dip their toes in to see if   they can get soaked versus wet if you get my  analogy at this point it barely seems like   they have enough passion for an original project  considering they haven't done one in some time   valve just seems content with collecting the  massive amounts of money they get from game the   game store and who can blame them I mean it's  that much money right or something or whatever   in the end DOTA underlords like artifact though  will be as forgotten as the quarterly earnings   that they reported and celebrated upon each game  successful points thanks for watching Detectives [Music] thank you foreign

Channel: nerdSlayer Studios

Views: 180,855

Keywords: gaming, videogames, video, game, multiplayer, online, massive, new, hd, nerdslayer, nerdslaying, nerd, slayer, slaying, critical, analysis, content, opinion, critique, life, of, death, character, look, back, at, mmo, mmorpg, n.s.

Id: JQjt6BEiQGc

Length: 22min 31sec (1351 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 26 2022