Dr. Derk's Mutant Battlegrounds

Dr. Derk's Mutant Battlegrounds

Mount Rouke Studios · July 28, 2020 · Artificial Intelligence, Auto Battler, Strategy, MOBA, Indie

Buy Dr. Derk's Mutant Battlegrounds from Steam at $4.99 — the cheapest of 1 store we compare.

PC
Mostly Positive74% · 23
Best price 35 Lowest tracked
$4.99
⭐ lowest tracked
Steam Buy at Steam

Prices last checked

More games under $5 →More Steam deals →

Where to buy Dr. Derk's Mutant Battlegrounds — official stores

Steam
Steam
Standard Edition · Steam
$4.99
Buy

Dr. Derk's Mutant Battlegrounds price by region

Dr. Derk's Mutant Battlegrounds costs $3.29 in Georgia (USD), €3.99 in Europe (EUR), £3.99 in the United Kingdom, $4.99 in the United States, CA$5.69 in Canada, NZ$6.29 in New Zealand, A$7.50 in Australia, R$10.89 in Brazil and zł17.99 in Poland right now.

Cheapest Dr. Derk's Mutant Battlegrounds offer in each region, in local currency
RegionBest priceOfficial storeKey shopStores
Georgia (USD) $3.29 $3.29 — 1
Europe (EUR) €3.99 €3.99 — 1
United Kingdom £3.99 £3.99 — 1
United Statesyour region $4.99 $4.99 — 1
Canada CA$5.69 CA$5.69 — 1
New Zealand NZ$6.29 NZ$6.29 — 1
Australia A$7.50 A$7.50 — 1
Brazil R$10.89 R$10.89 — 1
Poland zł17.99 zł17.99 — 1

Each row is a real price from that region's own stores, not a currency conversion, so the figures are not directly comparable. Switch regions in the header to shop the one you buy in.

Screenshots

About Dr. Derk's Mutant Battlegrounds

Welcome to Dr. Derk's Mutant Battlegrounds!

This is a game where you train Derklings, a creature with a neural network brain, to fight for you! The game takes place in a wonky western-themed MOBA setting, and as you battle other players you earn upgrades and items for your Derklings. The challenge is to figure out the best loadout and training strategy for your Derklings!

There are tons of strategies to explore, as the Derklings can be taught to do an endless number of things (thanks to the neural networks). How about teaching one of them to heal a tanky Derkling? Or make one of them dash through the opponents and go straight for the opponents statue? Or an all-out DPS team? Or try to make them trick the opponents? There's a lot to explore.

The game employs "real" artificial intelligence. The Derklings have neural networks with over 3,000 parameters. They can "see" over 30 things and take decisions on their own. The technology is similar (but simplified) to what researchers at OpenAI used to beat top DOTA players two years ago.

Some things to look forward to:
  • A dead simple way to get started training your own neural networks creatures. Just load them up, set some goals (bounties) and hit train!
  • Some technical details; the agents employ a RNN with over 3,000 parameters and 32 memory slots, and are trained with GA (Genetic Algorithm). Plenty enough for them to come up with all kinds of strange, funny and clever solutions!
  • A bunch of fun upgrades, such as a horn, a shell, huge guns, bubblegum and much more. They all change what the Derklings can do and what they might learn.
  • A global ladder where you can battle other players and earn new items.
  • Neural network visualizations for those who wish to dig deeper into the brains of the Derklings and fully understand their behaviors.
  • A community of people fascinated by AI and neural networks.

Dr. Derk wishes you and your team the best of luck!

Dr. Derk's Mutant Battlegrounds — game info

Platforms
Windows, macOS
Player modes
Single-player, Online PvP
PC Game Pass
Not included
More games like this:Mac games

What Steam players say

Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.

✦ AI summary

Dr. Derk's Mutant Battlegrounds is a unique reinforcement learning game where players train creatures rather than directly control them, with behavior shaped by rewards and items you assign. Players praise the innovative concept and appreciate the patience-based gameplay loop of watching their creations learn, though some find the hands-off approach frustrating and note that creatures can be slow learners early on. The game appears to have been abandoned by its creator, which has disappointed players who saw potential in its promising foundation.

Not recommended Sep 3, 2021
Sadly, the game is dead in EA state!
2 found this helpful
Recommended Apr 21, 2023
LOVE IT. Easily the based Reinforcement Learning game I've ever played - full stop.
Recommended Oct 11, 2021
It is very interesting style game. You need to train small creature rather than play it manually. Behavior of creature is different based on reward, item what you can select.
Not recommended Jun 11, 2021
This game plays itself, its plain and simple. But my opinion is its not my forte. Just be sure to know what you're actually getting into when playing this game. The game plays itself but most of the monsters are very very dumb in the beginning and will take a long time to understand what you want it to do. This game is a game of patience and plays like one of those minecraft drag the code block games, with your input only being telling it what to do with commands rather than controlling it yourself. some people may like this game, and that's great for them, but this is a game of patience that plays itself, do not expect a lot of player control.
Recommended Apr 12, 2021
Making a game which incorporates neural networks is difficult to accomplish but the creator made a great attempt at it and created a good game. I think the only disappointment I have is the lack of any recent updates and it seems like the creator has dropped the project at this point.
Not recommended Jan 1, 2021
Very fun and promising game. Can't wait to see what it looks like in the future. I already like my derklings quite a bit and getting a new egg to train is exciting. EDIT: GAME HAS BEEN OFFICIALLY ABANDONED!

Community reviews

—

0 reviews

Sign in to write a review.

No reviews yet. Be the first to review this game.

More like Dr. Derk's Mutant Battlegrounds

News

All news →
Games like Undertale that remember what you didPC

Games like Undertale that remember what you did

Undertale's own listing calls it the RPG where you don't have to destroy anyone. Games like Undertale that keep that idea: permanent choices, fights you can talk past, worlds that notice.

Nov 14, 2026
Games like Slay the Spire that keep the branching climbPC

Games like Slay the Spire that keep the branching climb

Most games like Slay the Spire copy the cards and lose the map. These keep the risky-or-safe choice, from a three-floor train to a deck made of poker hands.

Nov 14, 2026
Bodycam game price: what the zombie update changes about buyingPC

Bodycam game price: what the zombie update changes about buying

The Dead & Damned put Bodycam's zombies back on 13 November. What our dated record says about the Bodycam game price, and why the store's end date matters more than the sticker.

Nov 14, 2026
SilkMU is our new partner: MU Online Season 6 in a browser tabBlog

SilkMU is our new partner: MU Online Season 6 in a browser tab

SilkMU, a MU Online Season 6 server that runs in a browser tab or as an app, opened on 6 November 2026 and is now our partner. What it offers, what is free and what costs WCoin.

Nov 13, 2026
Games like Dying Light, where nightfall changes the rulesPC

Games like Dying Light, where nightfall changes the rules

Games like Dying Light are easy to find if you only want parkour or only want zombies. These eight keep the part that matters: a city that becomes a different place after dark.

Nov 13, 2026
Games like Portal 2, where one idea carries the whole gamePC

Games like Portal 2, where one idea carries the whole game

Games like Portal 2 all share one habit: teach a single impossible trick, then spend a campaign breaking it. From rewinding objects through time to Escher geometry that loops back on itself.

Nov 13, 2026
Planet Coaster DLC: skip the collection, buy the packsBundles

Planet Coaster DLC: skip the collection, buy the packs

The Planet Coaster DLC catalogue closed in 2019, so there is no curve left to wait out. Our record shows the collection bundle costs far more than assembling the same packs one by one.

Nov 13, 2026
Toxic Commando Game Pass: subscribe, or buy the key?Xbox

Toxic Commando Game Pass: subscribe, or buy the key?

The Toxic Commando Game Pass add landed on 12 November. Our price record since late September shows the key route barely moved, which changes what a subscription is worth.

Nov 13, 2026

Top games right now

All rankings →
  1. 1Counter-Strike 2Free
  2. 2Dota 2Free
  3. 3PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDSFree
  4. 4Grand Theft Auto V Legacy—
  5. 5Terraria$2.11
  6. 6Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six SiegeFree
  7. 7Rust$20.19
  8. 8Garry's Mod$6.19
  9. 9Team Fortress 2Free
  10. 10Black Myth: Wukong$35.72
  11. 11HELLDIVERS™ 2$23.99
  12. 12ELDEN RING$38.88
  13. 13Apex Legends™Free
  14. 14Left 4 Dead 2$9.99
  15. 15Stardew Valley$12.11
  16. 16Wallpaper Engine$3.99
  17. 17Cyberpunk 2077$17.99
  18. 18Euro Truck Simulator 2$4.99
  19. 19Dead by Daylight$6.81
  20. 20Red Dead Redemption 2$12.97
  21. 21The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt$9.77
  22. 22Baldur's Gate 3$53.52
  23. 23Phasmophobia$15.60
  24. 24War ThunderFree