Merlin's Chess promises a fantasy-themed twist on the classic tabletop game, and it's out soon on Quest.
Developed by Teleporter Realities, Merlin's Chess sees these animated chess pieces coming to life and fighting each other directly on the board. Supporting voice commands, hand tracking controls and the Touch controllers, this tabletop strategy game lets you play solo against AI NPCs with various difficulty settings or through online matchmaking. Here's the previous trailer.
Multiple game modes include both a 'Casual Mode' and more competitive 'Ranked Mode' with a “pro-grade” rating system. Spectators can also watch ongoing games and socialize with other players. Other features include seasonal themes, match environments, piece sets and command stations. Customizable avatars are supported with voice chat. There's also official integration with chess.com, letting you link your account to play against web and mobile users.
As an early access release, Merlin's Chess will receive a puzzle mode mixed reality support, new AI characters, and a learning experience via Merlin’s Chess Academy via future updates. New piece-sets, environments, and AI opponents will be added regularly as free and premium DLC. Finally, a story-driven Campaign Mode and DLC collaborations with third-party IPs are also in development.
Merlin's Chess launches in early access on May 22 for $12.99 on the Meta Quest platform.
Update Notice
This article was initially published on May 7, 2025. It was updated on May 13, 2025, with a new featured image and further gameplay details.
