The 20 best auto battler games in 2026, on PC and mobile
Twenty auto battlers, from live eight-player matches to runs you play alone, with where each one runs and how it is paid for.
Auto battler games, also called auto chess or autobattlers, move every decision to before the fight. You buy units from a shop, merge copies into stronger ones, stack bonuses and place your team, and then you watch. Win or lose, you learn something about your build, and the next round starts. The twenty games below cover the whole genre, from the big eight-player lobbies to quiet single-player runs, grouped by how you play, with our favorites first in each group. Prices are regular US prices on Steam and the mobile stores on the day we checked, and every card links to the store.
We are a small team making an auto battler ourselves, so this is the genre we play most. We left out games that have shut down and copycats of the games below, and for every free game we say what its shop sells.
Quick picks
| If you want | Play |
|---|---|
| Live eight-player matches | TFT |
| Something cute you can play at your own pace | Super Auto Pets |
| A puzzle in a bag | Backpack Battles |
| A single-player run that ends in a boss | How Many Dudes?, He is Coming |
| Huge armies and real counterplay | Mechabellum |
| A free game on your phone | TFT, Super Auto Pets |
| A free dark-fantasy party roguelike with no ads | Path of Orren (ours) |
Our game
Path of Orren
- Free, coming soon to iPhone and Android
- Join the waitlist
Full disclosure: this one is ours, so it isn't ranked with the others. Path of Orren is a free dark-fantasy party roguelike for iPhone and Android. You gather a party of unlikely heroes and lead them down a road of fights, forges, treasures and strange events, and the battles play out on their own, while the choices you make between them decide who makes it to the end. No ads. It isn't out yet: join the waitlist to play it first.
Games like TFT: the big eight-player auto battlers
These are the games most people mean by auto battler: eight players, a shared shop, and one survivor at the end. If you are looking for games like TFT, start here. If Merge Tactics is what got you into the genre, see our list of games like Clash Royale.
1TFT: Teamfight Tactics
Riot's auto battler started in 2019 as a mode inside League of Legends. Buy champions from a shared shop, combine copies into stronger ones and stack trait bonuses on a hex board. A new set of champions and traits arrives every few months, so the game never stays solved for long. It is free on PC, Mac, iPhone and Android, and the shop sells cosmetics such as Little Legends and arenas. Its App Store listing declares data used to track you.
2Hearthstone Battlegrounds
A mode inside Hearthstone. Each of the eight players picks a hero with a unique power, buys minions from a tavern, turns copies into golden versions and levels up the tavern for stronger ones. It is free to play, with a warning: in the December 2025 season, the latest we could confirm, the paid Battlegrounds season pass gave you four heroes to choose from at the start of each game instead of two. That is a real edge, and many players call it pay-to-win.
3Dota Underlords
Valve's take on Dota Auto Chess, with Dota heroes, alliances, crossplay between PC and phone, and a solo City Crawl mode. Free, with a pass that sells cosmetics. Valve stopped updating it (the phone versions were last updated in October 2024 on iPhone and November 2023 on Android), so think of it as a free classic rather than a live game.
4Auto Chess
The standalone version of Dota Auto Chess, the 2019 mod that made the genre big. Eight players buy chess pieces with races and classes and combine them, as in the original. It is free on Steam, iPhone and Android, but it sells currency and random boxes, and Google Play marks the Android version "Contains ads". Steam reviews are mixed. Play it for the history.
Games like Super Auto Pets: auto battlers at your own pace
These skip the live lobby. You fight saved teams of other players, so there is no timer, and you can put the game down between rounds.
5Super Auto Pets
Buy pets from a small shop, merge copies and order them in a line of five, which then faces another player's saved team. Turns are short, the art is cute and the strategy goes deep. The base game is free and complete on Steam, the web, iPhone and Android. Optional pet packs add other pets to play with, not stronger ones, and the shop also sells cosmetic hats. Neither store lists ads.
6Backpack Battles
- iPhone
- Android
- $9.99, no ads
- PC: $14.99
Here the board is a grid-shaped backpack. You buy items and fit them in, and where each one sits decides which items boost each other. Reach ten wins before five losses to win the run. US$14.99 on Steam and US$9.99 on iPhone and Android, with no in-app purchases.
7The Bazaar
- Not on phones
- PC: $19.99
Pick a hero and travel day by day, buying and arranging items on a board: weapons, tools, potions, even dinosaurs. Each item fires on its own cooldown in fights against monsters and other players' boards. The base game is US$19.99, and each extra hero is a US$19.99 add-on. Recent Steam reviews are mixed (56% in the last 30 days, against 78% overall), and the way it is sold has changed several times since launch. A phone version is announced but not out yet: here is where The Bazaar on mobile stands.
8Oaken Tower
- Not on phones
- PC: $9.99
- Early access
Stack items in a tower that fights other players' towers, and the synergies scale fast. It entered early access in April 2026 at US$9.99, has a co-op mode, and 92% of its Steam reviews are positive.
9Batomon Showdown
- iPhone
- Android
- $5.99, no ads
- PC: $14.99
A creature-collecting auto battler: pick a trainer, build a team of monsters with items and trinkets, and take on other players' saved teams. Out in September 2026 on Steam and Android and in October on iPhone, for a one-time price on every store.
Single-player roguelike auto battlers
Runs you play alone, with a beginning, a build and a final boss. If roguelites are your thing, see also our list of the best roguelike games of all time, or start with what a roguelike is if the word is new to you.
10How Many Dudes?
- iPhone
- Android
- $9.99, no ads
- PC: $14.99
Recruit an army of "dudes" with abilities and synergies, then send it against absurd bosses, from a gorilla to a thousand toddlers. The fun is in seeing how far a silly army can go. It came out in July 2026 and sold over 300,000 copies in its first three months. US$14.99 on Steam and US$9.99 on iPhone and Android, with no in-app purchases.
11He is Coming
- Not on phones
- PC: $19.99
- Early access
A demon king is on his way, and you have until he arrives. Explore the map, gather weapons and items whose effects trigger in battle, and build a combo strong enough to beat him. It is in early access on PC and in PC Game Pass, with an online PvP mode as well.
12Vivid Knight
Your companions become gems, and you combine their abilities into a party as you explore a changing dungeon. A one-time purchase on every platform, Switch included.
13Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot
- iPhone
- Android
- $4.99, no ads
- PC: $14.99
Lead a raid party of up to ten dwarves against orcs, trolls and dragons, setting formations and gear between stages. Released in January 2026, with 83% positive Steam reviews. At US$4.99 with no in-app purchases, it is the cheapest premium pick on phones in this list.
14Despot's Game
A crowd of tiny humans marches through a dungeon, and you buy them weapons and mutations and arrange the squad before each fight. There is also a Brawl mode against other players. It is on PC, PlayStation, Xbox and Switch. On iPhone and Android it is free to try before one unlock.
15Tales & Tactics
- Not on phones
- PC: $17.99
A squad auto battler in a tabletop roleplaying setting: draft, equip and place units between rounds, and meet characters on the way to a tournament. It has a PvP mode as well.
Auto battler strategy games: armies, kingdoms and tower defense
Bigger games built around automatic fights.
16Mechabellum
- Not on phones
- PC: $14.99
Large mech armies on a 3D battlefield. Each round you draft, upgrade and place units to counter what your opponent fielded last round, then watch the battle. It plays 1v1, 2v2 or free-for-all, with solo and co-op modes. The full game is US$14.99, and since September 2026 a free edition has most of the content. Its shop sells cosmetic packs.
17Legion TD 2
- Not on phones
- PC: $24.99
The successor to Legion TD, the Warcraft III map where the genre's roots lie. Your fighters hold each wave while you send mercenaries at your opponents. Up to eight players play in teams, and there is a solo mode.
189 Kings
- iPhone
- Android
- Free to try, $9.99 to unlock
- PC: $19.99
- Early access
A roguelite kingdom builder. Each year you place building and unit cards on a small grid, then your army meets a rival king's. It has an online PvP mode and 92% positive Steam reviews. It is in early access on PC and Mac and reached iPhone and Android in October 2026, free to try before a US$9.99 unlock.
19Hero's Hour
- Not on phones
- PC: $17.99
Battles between armies play out in real time, in the style of Heroes of Might and Magic. A close cousin of the genre rather than a pure auto battler.
20Loop Hero
Your hero walks a loop and fights by himself, and you place cards (monsters, terrain, buildings) to shape each lap. It is not an auto battler in the strict sense, but the feeling of a build that slowly takes over is the same. On phones it is free to try before a US$6.99 unlock.
The best mobile auto battlers on iPhone and Android
If you mostly play on your phone, thirteen of the twenty games above are on both stores:
- Free: TFT (cosmetics), Super Auto Pets (optional pet packs, no ads), Hearthstone Battlegrounds (the paid pass has given extra hero choices), Dota Underlords (no longer updated) and Auto Chess (ads on Android).
- Pay once, no in-app purchases: Backpack Battles, How Many Dudes?, Vivid Knight, Batomon Showdown and Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot.
- Free to try, then one unlock: 9 Kings, Despot's Game and Loop Hero.
For more runs on your phone, see our list of the best roguelike games on iPhone and Android. And for strategy beyond auto battlers, from 4X empires to tower defense, see our list of the best mobile strategy games.
Questions
What is the best auto battler game?
TFT is the safest answer if you want live eight-player matches: it is free on PC, Mac, iPhone and Android, and its shop sells cosmetics. If you would rather play at your own pace, Super Auto Pets and Backpack Battles are the best picks, and How Many Dudes? is the best run you can play alone.
What are the best auto battler games in 2026?
Among this year's releases, Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot (January) and How Many Dudes? (July) are out on PC, iPhone and Android, Batomon Showdown came out on PC and Android in September and on iPhone in October, and Oaken Tower entered early access on PC in April. 9 Kings reached iPhone and Android in October. TFT and Super Auto Pets are still the biggest free picks.
What are auto battler games?
Auto battlers are strategy games where you buy, combine and place units between rounds, and the fight then plays out without you. All of your decisions happen before the battle, so the skill is in building a team whose parts work together.
What was the first autobattler?
Dota Auto Chess, a Dota 2 mod released in January 2019, made the genre popular and had eight million players by May that year. The genre's roots go back to Legion TD, a Warcraft III custom map from around 2008. Auto Chess, Dota Underlords, TFT and Hearthstone Battlegrounds all followed in 2019.
Are there single-player auto battlers?
Yes. How Many Dudes?, He is Coming, 9 Kings, Despot's Game, Vivid Knight, Tales & Tactics, Loop Hero and Dwarves: Glory, Death and Loot are run-based roguelites you play alone. Mechabellum, Legion TD 2 and Hero's Hour also have solo modes.
What are the best auto battlers on iPhone and Android?
TFT and Super Auto Pets are free on both stores. Backpack Battles and How Many Dudes? cost US$9.99 with no in-app purchases, Dwarves costs US$4.99, and 9 Kings and Loop Hero are free to try before one unlock.
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