Image: MOONTON Games
He also mentioned that finding an audience outside of MLBB was a deciding factor to launch it as a standalone game.
The announcement of Magic Chess: Go Go was a delight to fans of MLBB's most popular arcade mode. It took every gameplay aspect of the game and breathed new life into them. However, it should be noted that the game is currently only accessible to players within the Malaysia/Singapore region at the time of writing.
GosuGamers interviewed the producer of Magic Chess: Go Go, Gao Chong, following this release. We asked him multiple questions, from what the was decision to make the mode a standalone app, the upcoming plans for the game, and how they might implement future updates.
1. What was the reasoning behind making Magic Chess a standalone game separate from the version in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang? Will progress be synced to both versions?
Gao Chong (G): Magic Chess was introduced in 2020 as a game mode within MLBB that has since grown to the point that many are playing it as their main game mode. In fact, we had quite a lot of players who had MLBB installed on their devices just to play Magic Chess! We also found that many gamers who do not play MLBB were interested in MLBB's most popular arcade mode. Given its popularity and interest from audiences outside of MLBB, we decided to launch Magic Chess as a standalone mobile application.
The launch of MCGG will provide several key benefits – more content for our players, an improved user experience, and, most importantly, the ability to create professional esports events. Progress between Magic Chess and MCGG will be synced up in the future, but this will take time.
2. Some units, like the Prince, weren’t carried over from Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. Are there any plans to introduce them into Magic Chess, and how will it happen?
G: There are many elements within MLBB that we don't currently have in MCGG; we plan to introduce these each season gradually. MCGG is still very new, so we do not want to destabilise the game experience or overwhelm our players at this early stage. MCGG is here for the long term – each update will add new features, chess pieces, and more, while some existing features will rotate out to keep the game balanced. It's all a delicate juggling act to keep gameplay fresh!
3. What are the seasonal plans for Magic Chess? What content can players expect every season?
G: The length of each season will be the same as with MLBB – once every three months. Through years of experience and experimentation with MLBB, we have learned that too many changes can easily cause players to feel uncomfortable. Conversely, too few changes can lead to a lack of freshness in the game. Our approach strikes a balance to allow MCGG to remain fresh while also avoiding giving players too much learning pressure. The special features of each season will also be very different season-on-season, with mechanisms such as "Blessing" and "Magic Crystal" changing up gameplay to keep things fresh.
4. The emblem system and the commander upgrade system could make the game "pay-to-win" because some of them are only purchasable with Diamonds, the premium currency, that can’t be obtained through the free-to-play method. Is this by design? Will Diamond-only purchases be balanced with the rest of the game?
G: Like MLBB, we intended MCGG to be an esports title. As such, our objective is to ensure that the playing field is fair, balanced, and competitive.
Additionally, we will not gatekeep content behind paywalls or make it such that content absolutely requires payment to be enjoyed. For example, players will be able to unlock and upgrade their favourite Commanders for free, such as via the GoGo Chest. We will continue to test and adjust the various systems to ensure that MCGG stays free-to-play and accessible.
5. What are the current esports plans for Magic Chess, and when will we see any esports initiatives start for the game?
G: Esports is one of our priorities for MCGG. You might think it easy to replicate MLBB's model, but it's much less straightforward than that. Unlike MLBB, which is a team esport, MCGG is a single-player title. This makes the participation cost and entry barriers much lower, where anyone can be a champion! With an accessible and open ecosystem, we expect many future champions to be hidden around us; they could be our classmates, work colleagues, or even the person beside you on the train!
For now, we focus on polishing the game and hope to officially launch MCGG globally in 2025. However, MCGG will soon be hosting exhibition matches at the ongoing M6 World Championship – look forward to more details soon!
Magic Chess: Go Go is projected to launch globally in 2025. The game will hold its first public exhibition match at MLBB's M6 World Championship on 14 December 2024, 9.30pm (GMT +8) at Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
