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Tencent adds Auto Chess to its own MOBA, Arena of Valor

Yet another Tencent-sponsored autobattler is upon us

Arena of Valor is Tencent’s internally-developed mobile MOBA and now, and like basically every other title in the genre, it’s getting its own take on the autobattler genre. The new mode will launch this month – at least in the Chinese version, typically known as Honor of Kings. This marks yet another piece of the Auto Chess pie that Tencent has a hand in collecting.

The Auto Chess mode will launch in August, alongside a new map editor, as Daniel Ahmad notes on Twitter. While the game’s audience is much bigger in China than it is elsewhere, it’s still the most profitable mobile title in the world – and all things considered, its jump to the autobattler bandwagon is pretty timely.

If you haven’t been keeping track, this is now the third autobattler Tencent is involved with. It’s the parent company of Riot, which makes League of Legends and thus Teamfight Tactics. It’s publishing Drodo’s Auto Chess in China. And now, Arena of Valor’s getting its own take on the mode.

Tencent’s history of bringing out multiple games in the same genre has allegedly been a point of contention in the past, as some reports have suggested that the relationship between Riot and Tencent was strained as a result of Arena of Valor’s resemblance to League. Riot, however, says things between the companies are just fine.

It sounds like League of Legends for mobile is also properly in the works, which somehow makes the list of titles under the Tencent banner even more convoluted and confusing.