VANCOUVER – Chess is an ancient game which can be traced back to being nearly 1500 years old, with gameplay remaining largely unchanged over the past 500 years. That is exactly why the developers of the game decided to liven things up with some fresh downloadable content, introducing the devastating Mecha Queen DLC to the game.

While chess players will be able to continue to enjoy the game without purchasing the DLC, many Grand Masters are stating that they expect the meta to shift around the new Mecha Queen piece, as it’s a must-buy for anyone who is serious about chess. Mecha Queen replaces the original Queen on the board, but in addition to being able to move any number of spaces in any direction, Mecha Queen can now also teleport to swap positions with friendly pawns as well as fire a concussive blast to kill any piece up to three squares away.

“The Mecha Queen is exactly what chess needed to liven up the meta, things have been stale for too long, and frankly it was getting boring playing such a solved game,” said Magnus Carlsen, the world’s top-ranked chess player. “Everyone is talking about how the concussive blasts finally add a ranged attack to the game, but I think the Mecha Queen’s ability to re-spawn as the original Queen once it dies is its true power.”

The downloadable content also includes several cosmetic upgrades, three new maps, and an upgrade to the Knights with a set of horse armour. While a lot of people are happy over the new content, many chess players are upset about micro-transactions being introduced to the game.

“Great another pay-to-win game,” bemoaned gamer Edward Staniskada on Twitter. “First I have to watch my Sims lose all their friends because I didn’t buy the House Parties expansion pack and now I have to deal with watching all my pieces get obliterated by Mecha Queen. This sucks.”

This isn’t the first time Chess has seen a major update, with castling and en passant being added in the 1.3.01 patch that completely revolutionized the game. When reached for comment on how this will change things, Garry Kasparov said he won’t make judgement until he plays it himself. He then added you can see his gameplay with commentary online by following his Twitch stream GarPar69.

While chess is the first classic game to introduce new content, it appears not to be the last with a circulating rumour of an upcoming character creator for backgammon.