''Among Us'' is a 2018
online multiplayer
A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
social deduction game
A social deduction game is a game in which players attempt to uncover each other's hidden role or team allegiance. Commonly, these games are played with teams, with one team being considered "good" and another being "bad". During gameplay, players ...
developed and published by American game studio Innersloth. The game was inspired by the party game
Mafia
"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
and the science fiction horror film ''
The Thing''.
The game allows for
cross-platform play
In video games with online gaming functionality, also called cross-compatible play, cross-platform play, crossplay, or cross-play describes the ability of players using different video game hardware to play with each other simultaneously. It is ...
, first released on
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
and
Android devices in June 2018 and on
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...
later that year in November. The game was then ported to the
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
in December 2020 and on the
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
,
PlayStation 5
The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...
,
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
and
Xbox Series X/S
The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...
in December 2021. While the game was initially released in 2018 to little mainstream attention, it received a massive influx of popularity in 2020 due to many well-known
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
streamers and
YouTuber
A YouTuber is an online personality and/or influencer who produces videos on the video-sharing platform YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006.
Influence
Influent ...
s playing it. A separate VR version of the game, ''
Among Us VR
''Among Us VR'' is a social deduction video game developed by Schell Games, Innersloth, and Robot Teddy. It was published by Innersloth in November 2022 for Meta Quest 2 and Windows via several SteamVR-supported headsets, with a PlayStation 5 ...
'', was released in November 2022.
''Among Us'' takes place in
space-themed settings where players are colorful armless cartoon
astronauts
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
. Each player takes on one of two roles: most are Crewmates, but a small number play Impostors, which appear identical to Crewmates. The goal of the Crewmates is to either identify and vote out the Impostors, or to complete all the tasks around the map; the goal of the Impostors is to covertly sabotage the mission either by killing the Crewmates before they complete all their tasks or by triggering a disaster that is not resolved in time.
Gameplay
''Among Us'' is a
multiplayer game
A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...
for four to fifteen players (previously four to ten players), although recommended for at least five.
Up to three players are randomly and secretly chosen to be the Impostor(s) each round. As of 2021, a round can take place on one of four
maps
A map is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes.
Many maps are static, fixed to paper or some other durable medium, while others are dynamic or interactive. Although ...
: a spaceship called "The Skeld", a headquarters building called "MIRA HQ", a planet base called "Polus",
or an airship based on Innersloth's ''Henry Stickmin'' series called "The Airship".
The Crewmates can win the game one of two ways; either by completing all assigned tasks or by ejecting all Impostors. Impostors can likewise win in two ways; either by killing or ejecting all Crewmates, or by sabotaging a critical system on the map (provided the Crewmates do not resolve it in time).
Games can also end by players quitting the match if doing so fulfills any win condition (if a Crewmate quits the game, their tasks are automatically considered completed).
At the start of the game, Crewmates are assigned "tasks" to complete around the map (in the form of
minigame
A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...
s,
minipuzzles, and simple toggles), mostly consisting of maintenance work on vital systems such as fixing wires and downloading data.
Impostors are given a fake list of suggested tasks to blend in with Crewmates. However, they cannot legitimately perform tasks and can only pretend to be doing any of the tasks on the ship. Impostors, however, can sabotage vital systems (such as The Skeld's oxygen supply), close the doors to rooms, quickly and covertly traverse
ventilation ducts (commonly referred to as "venting"), and kill Crewmates when standing near them. To help the Crewmates identify Impostors, there are various
surveillance systems on each map, such as
security cameras
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly tr ...
and an
admin
Administrator or admin may refer to:
Job roles Computing and internet
* Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database
* Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum
* ...
system on The Skeld,
a doorlog system with sensors in MIRA HQ, and a vitals indicator in Polus that shows the living status of all players.
Crewmates may also confirm their identity through "visual tasks" (tasks that have animations which play for other players), which cannot be faked by Impostors.
If a Crewmate is killed or any player is voted out and ejected, they become a ghost. Ghosts can pass through walls, watch other players' activities, and see and chat with other ghosts.
Living players have a
limited cone of vision;
ghosts do not. Moreover, ghosts cannot communicate with living players or be seen by them. Ghosts help their living teammates by completing their tasks (as a Crewmate) or performing various acts of sabotage (as an Impostor).
Any living player may call a group meeting by reporting a dead body, or by pressing the Emergency Meeting button on the map at any time (except during major sabotages, when Emergency Meetings cannot be called, but dead bodies can still be reported).
During a meeting, players discuss who they believe is an Impostor based on the available
evidence
Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field.
In epistemology, evidenc ...
. Impostors can be identified beyond all
reasonable doubt
Beyond a reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the balance of probabilities standard commonly used in civil cases, becau ...
if they are seen ''venting'' or ''killing''. A player may be suspected for many other reasons though. However, all the players form a sort of
jury
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartiality, impartial verdict (a Question of fact, finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty o ...
and must weigh the veracity or value of each other's statements and questions during the meeting. A
plurality vote
Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which a candidate, or candidates, who poll more than any other counterpart (that is, receive a plurality), are elected. In systems based on single-member districts, it elects just one member per ...
is held, and if a plurality is obtained, the player whom the most crewmates voted is ejected from the map and they become a ghost unless the majority of the crewmates choose to skip vote or there is a tie vote.
Players can communicate in a built-in
text chat
Online chat may refer to any kind of communication over the Internet that offers a real-time transmission of text messages from sender to receiver. Chat messages are generally short in order to enable other participants to respond quickly. Ther ...
(with some predefined phrases for phone users),
but only during meetings, and only if they are alive (though ghosts can speak with one another at any time).
While the game does not have a built-in
voice chat
Voice chat is telecommunication via voice over IP technologies—especially when those technologies are used among players in multiplayer online games.
Users might use either a VoIP engine system that is built into the game, or a separate pro ...
system, it is common for players to use external programs such as
Discord
Discord is a VoIP and instant messaging social platform. Users have the ability to communicate with voice calls, video calls, text messaging, media and files in private chats or as part of communities called "servers".The developer documenta ...
,
or to converse regularly if they are in close physical proximity to one another. In case players can hear each other's voices, the game reminds them to not speak except during meetings.
In November 2021, additional roles were made available to players extending beyond the standard Crewmate or Impostor roles. Crewmates can also be Engineers, Scientists, or Guardian Angels. Engineers can travel through vents like Impostors can, albeit to a limited capacity. Scientists can check vitals at any time to see if any player has been killed recently. Crewmates who become Ghosts can become Guardian Angels, which can temporarily protect living players from being killed. Impostors likewise can be Shapeshifters, allowing them to temporarily morph into other players.
In each game's lobby, various options can be adjusted to customize aspects of gameplay, such as player movement speed, the allowed number of emergency meetings, number of tasks, if there will be "visual tasks",
or whether or not an Impostor is revealed after being voted off. There are also many cosmetic options, including spacesuit colors,
skins, hats, and pets,
some of which are paid
downloadable content
Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...
.
Development and release
Early development
''Among Us'' was inspired by the live
party game
Party games are games that are played at social gatherings to facilitate interaction and provide entertainment and recreation. Categories include (explicit) icebreaker, parlour (indoor), picnic (outdoor), and large group games.Frankel, Lillian; ...
''Mafia'',
and the
science fiction horror
This is a list of science fiction horror films.
0-9
*''4D Man'' (1959)
*'' 9'' (2009)
*'' 9'' (2019)
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
*''The Omega Man'' (1971)
*'' Outland'' (1981)
*''Outpost'':
**'' Outpost'' (2008) ...
film
''The Thing''.
The idea for the concept was originally given by Marcus Bromander, co-founder of Innersloth, who had played ''Mafia'' since he was a kid. In the original game, function cards were dealt and players wandered around a house, aimlessly, while another person secretly killed the players, drawing a finger around their neck. Most of its mechanics were still present in ''Among Us'', but the team wanted to "alleviate the need to create an interesting home model and have someone wandering around in a boring environment". So, they decided that the game would be space-themed and also added tasks, which, according to Forest Willard, programmer at Innersloth, "changed several times during development".
Development began in November 2017.
The game was initially intended to be a mobile-only
local multiplayer
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
* Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...
game with a single map.
Bromander paused development on Innersloth's other game, ''The Henry Stickmin Collection'', in order to build ''Among Us''
' first map, The Skeld.
When they began developing the first map, they intended that the ship was always in crisis and that the Impostors could do tasks. However, they found this setup "stressful" and decided that it "
ouldn't leavemuch time for detective work and informed meeting conversations".
Willard described
playtest
A playtest is the process by which a game designer tests a new game for bugs and design flaws before releasing it to market. Playtests can be run "open", "closed", "beta", or otherwise, and are very common with board games, collectible card games, ...
ing as painful and frustrating, as the game would break down during sessions forcing him to send playtesters new builds off of
Google Play
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android (operating sys ...
. The team tested the game with 8 of their friends and never tested the game with 9 or the maximum of 10 players.
The game was developed using the
Unity
Unity may refer to:
Buildings
* Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building
* Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper
* Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England
* Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; a h ...
engine.
The game was released in June 2018 to
Android and
iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
under the AppID of "spacemafia".
Shortly after release, ''Among Us'' had an average player count of 30 to 50 concurrent players.
Bromander blamed the game's poor release on Innersloth being "really bad at marketing".
The team nearly abandoned the project multiple times but continued work on it due to a "small but vocal player base",
adding in online multiplayer, new tasks, and customization options.
The game was released on
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
on November 16, 2018.
Cross-platform play
In video games with online gaming functionality, also called cross-compatible play, cross-platform play, crossplay, or cross-play describes the ability of players using different video game hardware to play with each other simultaneously. It is ...
was supported upon release of the Steam version. Originally, the game had no audio to avoid revealing hidden information in a local setting, and Willard mixed sounds from numerous sound packs to compose the SFX during the game's Steam release.
On August 8, 2019, Innersloth released a second map, MIRA HQ,
a "tightly packed headquarters roughly the size of The Skeld." A third map, Polus, was added on November 12, 2019, and is set in a research station.
The fourth map, the Airship, was released on March 31, 2021, and is based on a location in the ''Henry Stickmin'' universe.
MIRA HQ and Polus originally cost players via in-app purchase. Their prices were reduced to on January 6, 2020, then made free on June 11, 2020. While the map packs are still available for purchase on all platforms, they now only provide the player the skins that were bundled with the maps. According to programmer Forest Willard, the team "stuck with
he game
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
a lot longer than we probably should have from a pure business standpoint", putting out regular updates to the game as often as once per week. This led to a steady increase in players, causing the game's player base to
snowball
A snowball is a spherical object made from snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands, and pressing the snow together to compact it into a ball. Snowballs are often used in games such as snowball fights.
A snowball may also be a large ...
. Bromander attributed this to the studio having enough savings to keep working on the game even while it was not selling particularly well.
Canceled sequel and ongoing updates
In August 2020, the team shifted focus onto a sequel, ''Among Us 2''.
During this time, Forest Willard and Amy Liu continued to update ''Among Us'', increasing the maximum player base, adding four servers and three regions, and implementing longer multiplayer codes to support more concurrent games. On September 23, 2020, the team canceled the sequel, instead opting to add all content intended for the sequel to the original ''Among Us'', due to "how many people
ereenjoying
he original game
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
.
However, Innersloth deemed the game's
codebase
In software development, a codebase (or code base) is a collection of source code used to build a particular software system, application, or software component. Typically, a codebase includes only human-written source code files; thus, a codeb ...
"outdated and not built to support adding so much new content", so the team made plans to rework the game's core code to enable adding new features.
The team subsequently announced their plans to fix the game's server issues and widespread
cheating
Cheating generally describes various actions designed to subvert rules in order to obtain unfair advantages. This includes acts of bribery, cronyism and nepotism in any situation where individuals are given preference using inappropriate cr ...
problem,
as well as add a system for banning disruptive players.
In October 2020,
colorblind
Color blindness or color vision deficiency (CVD) is the decreased ability to see color or differences in color. It can impair tasks such as selecting ripe fruit, choosing clothing, and reading traffic lights. Color blindness may make some aca ...
support for the "wires" task was added to the ''Among Us''
beta
Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; grc, βῆτα, bē̂ta or ell, βήτα, víta) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Modern Greek, it represents the voiced labiod ...
on Steam, as well as some previously unannounced lobby customization options. As-of-yet unimplemented features include a fifth map, the Sheriff role, and new game modes.
In mid-February 2021, the game added a feature called Quickchat, which replaces the standard chat interface with a series of preset phrases that players must pick from. Players under the age of 13 are required to use Quickchat, but those over 13 are also allowed to use Free Chat, which allows them to type original messages. First announced at
The Game Awards 2020
The Game Awards 2020 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2020. It was produced and hosted by Geoff Keighley, and took place on December 10, 2020. The preshow ceremony was hosted by Sydnee Goodman. Unlike previous Game Awards, ...
, the Airship map was released on March 31, 2021.
The Airship features multiple floors, contraptions, tasks, and "more". In addition, Game Awards presenter
Geoff Keighley
Geoff Keighley () is a Canadian video game journalist and television presenter. He was most known for hosting the video game show '' GameTrailers TV'', and for co-hosting the now-defunct ''G4tv.com''. Keighley is also a freelance writer whose w ...
's face was added as a skin. The map itself is based upon the ''Henry Stickmin'' series's Toppat Clan Airship. Innersloth also stated that the map would be free to all players.
It also features a skin bundle that includes ''Henry Stickmin''-themed cosmetic that can be bought on Steam.
The accounts system was implemented along with the update, and it allows players to report players that are not following Innersloth's Code of Conduct in order to make the game a welcoming and respectful place. Punishment ranges from temporary to permanent bans. They also stated that reports would be viewed manually and not by bots, that account creations would be required if players want to use Free Chat or to customize their nicknames, and that people under the age of 13 would need their parents' permission to create an account. Implementing an account system also allowed Innersloth to add account linking and a friending system in future updates. Innersloth later revealed on the game's official Twitter account a new color to the game, Rose, which was included in the game's next update along with five other colors: Coral, Tan, Gray, Maroon, and Banana, which were revealed during Summer Game Fest on June 10, 2021, alongside other upcoming content, including a fifth map, new Hide & Seek game mode, and new roles such as Sheriff and Scientist.
The new colors, along with 15 player lobby support, new meeting screen and revamp at the game's design, was released on June 15, 2021, during the game's 3rd anniversary.
On July 7, 2021, Innersloth released a minor update that adds a new task, "Clean Vent", which involves the Crewmate cleaning a specific vent, preventing Impostors (and as of the November 9 update, Engineers) from using it, as well as some icon changes. On November 9, 2021, a major update was released that introduced four new roles (Shapeshifter, Engineer, Scientist, and Guardian Angel), achievements, a level system, controller support, custom keybinds, visor cosmetics, cosmetic bundles called "Cosmicubes", various in-game currencies, and a major revamp to the in-game store, which also reveals the names of the costumes. On March 31, 2022, a friending system was added, which allows players to see who they recently played with, send and receive friend requests, send and receive lobby invites, as well as the ability to block people. On June 21, 2022, the game was patched to include colorblind settings. At
The Game Awards 2022
The Game Awards 2022 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2022. The event was hosted by Geoff Keighley, creator and producer of The Game Awards, and was held to an invited audience at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on De ...
on December 8, 2022, it was announced that the Hide & Seek mode would be released the following day.
Console releases
Amid its popularity, Innersloth considered releasing the game to
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
and
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
consoles, but encountered a problem in implementing player communication, since standard text-based or voice-based chat seemed unusable. They considered a system similar to the "quick comms" system from ''
Rocket League
''Rocket League'' is a vehicular soccer video game developed and published by Psyonix. The game was first released for Windows and PlayStation 4 in July 2015, with ports for Xbox One and Nintendo Switch being released later on. In June 2016, ...
'', as well as the possibility of developing an entirely new communication system for the game.
Versions of the game for Xbox consoles were later announced.
''Among Us'' was released for the
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
on December 15, 2020, the same day it was announced during
Nintendo Direct
Nintendo Direct is a series of online presentation or live shows produced by Nintendo, where information regarding the company's upcoming content or franchises is presented, such as information about games and consoles. The presentations began i ...
Indie World
Nintendo Direct is a series of online presentation or live shows produced by Nintendo, where information regarding the company's upcoming content or franchises is presented, such as information about games and consoles. The presentations began i ...
showcase. The Switch version supports cross-platform play with the mobile and Windows versions. This port was published by Play EveryWare.
Upon release, the Switch version had an
exploit
Exploit means to take advantage of something (a person, situation, etc.) for one's own end, especially unethically or unjustifiably.
Exploit can mean:
*Exploitation of natural resources
*Exploit (computer security)
* Video game exploit
*Exploitat ...
to access ''The Airship'' prior to its official release in early 2021. The exploit was fixed two days after release in the Switch version's first update.
''Among Us'' was released digitally for PlayStation 4,
PlayStation 5
The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, it was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North Ame ...
, Xbox One, and
Xbox Series X/S
The Xbox Series X/S are home video game consoles developed by Microsoft. They were both released on November 10, 2020, as the fourth generation Xbox, succeeding the Xbox One. Along with Sony's PlayStation 5, also released in November 2020, t ...
consoles on December 14, 2021, along with its release on the
Xbox Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass are video game subscription services from Microsoft. Both services grant users access to a rotating catalog of games from a range of publishers and other premium services, including Xbox Live Gold and EA Play, for ...
for console. These versions will support cross-platform play with existing Windows, Switch, and mobile versions. Unique to the PlayStation ports are special customization options based on ''
Ratchet & Clank
''Ratchet & Clank'' is a series of action platformer and third-person shooter video games. The franchise was created and developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation consoles, such as PlayStation 2 ...
''. Physical releases for consoles were available in Europe the same day, while North American physical releases were released in January 2022.
''Among Us VR''
During
The Game Awards 2021
The Game Awards 2021 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2021. The event was hosted by Geoff Keighley, creator and producer of The Game Awards, and was held to an invited audience at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on De ...
, a standalone VR version titled ''Among Us VR'' was announced. Co-developed by
Schell Games
Schell Games is a game design and development company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 2002 by game developer Jesse Schell. Schell Games creates video games and interactive experiences for education and entertainment.
History ...
, Innersloth, and Robot Teddy, the game was released on November 10, 2022 for the
Meta Quest 2
Meta Quest 2 (initially sold as Oculus Quest 2) is a virtual reality (VR) headset developed by Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.). It was unveiled on September 16, 2020 and released on October 13.
As with its predecessor, the Oculus Que ...
and Windows via
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
, with a PlayStation 5 version via
PlayStation VR2
The PlayStation VR2 (PS VR2) is an upcoming virtual reality headset for the PlayStation 5 home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment set to be released February 22, 2023.
History
Sony's first PlayStation VR was released ...
planned for the future.
''Among Us VR'' features similar gameplay to the original game, but is played from a first-person perspective. Several of the original game's tasks were recreated, alongside new ones. At the time of release, the only level in the game is The Skeld 2; further content updates are planned, though no details have been announced.
Popularity
2020 spike
![Sodacrop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Sodacrop.png)
While ''Among Us'' was released in 2018, it was not until mid-2020 that it saw a surge of popularity, initially driven by content creators online in South Korea and Brazil. Bromander stated that the game is more popular in Mexico, Brazil, and South Korea than in the United States.
According to Willard,
Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
streamer
Sodapoppin
Thomas Chance Morris (born February 15, 1994), better known as Sodapoppin, is an American Twitch streamer and YouTuber. He has one of the largest followings on Twitch, with over 8.7 million followers and over 398.3 million views as of August 15, ...
first popularized the game on Twitch in July 2020.
Many other Twitch streamers and YouTubers followed suit, including prominent content creators
xQc
Félix Lengyel (; born November 12, 1995), better known as xQc or by his former screenname xQcOW, is a Canadian Twitch (service), Twitch streamer, internet personality, and former professional ''Overwatch (video game), Overwatch'' player.
Le ...
,
Pokimane
Imane Anys (; Arabic: إِيمَان أَنِيس, born 14 May 1996), better known as Pokimane ( or ), is a Moroccan-Canadian Twitch streamer and YouTuber. She is best known for her live streams on Twitch, broadcasting video game content, most ...
,
Shroud
Shroud usually refers to an item, such as a cloth, that covers or protects some other object. The term is most often used in reference to ''burial sheets'', mound shroud, grave clothes, winding-cloths or winding-sheets, such as the famous Shr ...
,
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...
,
Disguised Toast
Jeremy Wang (born 25 November 1991), better known as Disguised Toast, is a Taiwanese-Canadian streamer, YouTuber, and Internet personality. He got his start on YouTube, creating videos about the digital card game '' Hearthstone''. Wang later be ...
and
PewDiePie
Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg ( , ; born 24 October 1989), better known as PewDiePie ( ), is a Swedes, Swedish YouTuber known for his Let's Play videos and comedic formatted videos and shows. Kjellberg's popularity on YouTube and extensive media co ...
.
The
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
was frequently cited as a reason for the popularity of ''Among Us'', as it allowed for socializing despite
social distancing
In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious disea ...
.
Emma Kent of ''
Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
'' believed that the release of Innersloth's ''The Henry Stickmin Collection'' also contributed to awareness of ''Among Us'',
and ''
PC Gamer
''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
''
's Wes Fenlon credited Twitch streamer SR_Kaif for "prim
ng''Among Us'' for its big moment." Fenlon also praised ''Among Us'' for improvements over other popular tabletop games that had been inspired by Mafia, such as ''
Secret Hitler
''Secret Hitler'' is a hidden identity social deduction party game developed by Goat, Wolf, & Cabbage LLC, manufactured by Breaking Games and distributed by Blackbox. The board game was designed by Max Temkin, Mike Boxleiter and Tommy Maranges ...
''. He said other video game adaptations of Mafia such as ''
Town of Salem
''Town of Salem'' is an online multiplayer game with social deduction and strategy elements. It was developed and published by indie game developer BlankMediaGames, and released on December 15, 2014. Early alpha and beta versions were browser ...
'' and ''
Werewolves Within
''Werewolves Within'' is a multiplayer social-deduction VR game for Oculus Rift, Windows, and PlayStation VR, developed by Red Storm Entertainment, published by Ubisoft, and released on 6 December 2016.
Gameplay
The game is set in a medieval-fa ...
'' were "just add
ngan online interface for the basic Werewolf rules," whereas ''Among Us'' is as an entirely new take on the concept.
Along with ''
Fall Guys
''Fall Guys'' (formerly known as ''Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout'') is a free-to-play platform battle royale game developed by Mediatonic. The game involves up to 60 players who control jellybean-like creatures and compete against each other ...
'' and the ''
Jackbox Party Pack
''The Jackbox Party Pack'' is a series of party video games developed by Jackbox Games for many different platforms on a near-annual release schedule since 2014. Each installment contains five games that are designed to be played in large groups ...
s'', ''Among Us'' provided a narrative-less experience that helped to avoid the "cultural trauma" of the pandemic, according to M.J. Lewis of ''
Wired
''Wired'' (stylized as ''WIRED'') is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Fra ...
''.
Memes and mods
The game's popularity continued into the following months.
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
reported that videos about ''Among Us'' were viewed 4 billion times in September 2020,
and
TikTok
TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
TikTok is an international version ...
videos related to ''Among Us'' had over 13 billion views in October 2020.
YouTuber CG5 wrote a song based on the game in September 2020, titled "Show Yourself", and gained over 60 million views in four months. In September 2020, the game exceeded 100 million downloads
and its player count rose to 1.5 million concurrent players
(nearly 400 thousand of which were on Steam),
then peaked at 3.8 million in late September. The sudden increase in players overloaded the game's server, which according to Willard was "a totally free
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
server, and it was terrible." This forced him to work quickly, under
crunch time, to resolve these issues.
In August 2020, Innersloth opened an online store for ''Among Us'' themed merchandise.
The game's popularity inspired many original songs,
fan art
Fan art or fanart is artwork created by fans of a work of fiction and derived from a series character or other aspect of that work. They are usually done by amateur artists, semi-professionals or professionals. As fan labor, fan art refers to ...
and
internet meme
An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...
s,
Willard expressed that fan-created content "really is the best part" of making ''Among Us'', and Bromander called it "my favorite thing to see".
The game popularized the slang word "sus" (meaning "suspicious" or "suspect"),
which had been used before the game's release. Other slang terms as well as internet memes popularized and inspired by ''Among Us'' include 'Sussy' and 'Sussy
Baka
Baka, baká or BAKA may refer to:
Ethnicities and languages
* Baka people (Cameroon and Gabon), an African ethnic group
* Baka people (Congo and South Sudan), an African ethnic group
* Baka language, a dialect cluster of Cameroon and Gabon
* Baka ...
' (derived from "sus"), 'When the Imposter is Sus' (an ironic meme based on ''Among Us'', usually alongside an edited photo of
Jerma985
Jeremy Elbertson (born September 22, 1985), better known as Jerma985 or mononymously as Jerma (), is an American live streamer, YouTuber, and voice actor known for his elaborate, "borderline surreal" engagement-based livestreams on Twitch.
E ...
), and 'Amogus' (
satiric misspelling
A satiric misspelling is an intentional misspelling of a word, phrase or name for a rhetorical purpose. This can be achieved with intentional malapropism (e.g. replacing ''erection'' for ''election''), enallage (giving a sentence the wrong form, ...
of "''Among Us''"). In addition, the meme "Among Us everywhere" is a phenomenon where unexpected objects resemble the crewmate character. In September 2022, "Sus" was officially added to
Merriam-Webster
Merriam-Webster, Inc. is an American company that publishes reference books and is especially known for its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States.
In 1831, George and Charles Merriam founded the company as ...
's dictionary.
During its time of widespread popularity, ''Among Us'' was controversially played by the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
Esports
Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...
team, in which players on the stream used in-game names referencing the
N-word
In the English language, the word ''nigger'' is an ethnic slur used against black people, especially African Americans. Starting in the late 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been progressively replaced by the euphemism , notably in cases ...
("Gamer Word") and the
bombing of Nagasaki
The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the on ...
("Japan 1945" and "Nagasaki"). The stream was deemed "offensive" and "intolerable" by some viewers. The sailor responsible for the stream was later kicked off the team. In October 2020, U.S. Representatives
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of th ...
and
Ilhan Omar
Ilhan Abdullahi Omar (born October 4, 1982) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. Before her election to Congress, Omar served in the Minnesota ...
streamed the game alongside several other prominent streamers such as
Pokimane
Imane Anys (; Arabic: إِيمَان أَنِيس, born 14 May 1996), better known as Pokimane ( or ), is a Moroccan-Canadian Twitch streamer and YouTuber. She is best known for her live streams on Twitch, broadcasting video game content, most ...
and
Hasan Piker
Hasan Doğan Piker ( , ; born July 25, 1991), also known as HasanAbi ( abi meaning ''big brother'' in Turkish), is a Turkish-American Twitch streamer and left-wing political commentator. He has previously worked as a broadcast journalist and pr ...
as a way to encourage people to vote in the
2020 United States presidential election
The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...
, drawing almost 700,000 concurrent viewers on Twitch.
The game also received several mods made by the community, which added new roles, game modes, cosmetics, etc. ''Among Us'' was also featured in
Twitch Rivals 2020, an online gaming tournament which was held on December 4, 2020. During the event, players were able to receive an exclusive pet called "Glitch Pet", which is the Twitch logo.
October 2020 and January 2021 hacks
In mid-October 2020, a hacker known as "Eris Loris" began targeting mainly North American servers. Several players on the ''Among Us''
subreddit
Reddit (; stylized in all lowercase as reddit) is an American social news aggregation, content rating, and discussion website. Registered users (commonly referred to as "Redditors") submit content to the site such as links, text posts, images ...
and
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
reported this player hacking their lobbies and
spamming
Spamming is the use of messaging systems to send multiple unsolicited messages (spam) to large numbers of recipients for the purpose of commercial advertising, for the purpose of non-commercial proselytizing, for any prohibited purpose (especial ...
in-game chat with promotions for his YouTube channel, links to his Discord server, and controversial political messages. Eris Loris also threatened to personally hack players that refused to subscribe to his YouTube channel. The Discord server has been found to contain large amounts of offensive content, such as racist language, gore, pornography, and images depicting animal abuse.
A ''Eurogamer'' report from October 23, 2020, features an interview with a person claiming to be Eris Loris, conducted via the Discord server from one of the links provided in the hacked games. In the interview, Loris claims he created the bot responsible for the hacks "in only six hours", and had enlisted up to 50 volunteers to form a
botnet
A botnet is a group of Internet-connected devices, each of which runs one or more bots. Botnets can be used to perform Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, steal data, send spam, and allow the attacker to access the device and its conn ...
which boosted the strength of their attacks. Loris claimed that the hack impacted 4.9 million players in 1.5 million games. He also added that the hacks were part of a publicity stunt to influence players to vote for
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
in the
2020 United States presidential election
The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala Ha ...
.
Innersloth added an in-game message warning players about the hacks on October 22,
and released a statement on Twitter the next day. They said they were "super aware" of the hacking issue, and stated that an "emergency server update" would be pushed out to combat the hacks. They encouraged players to stick to private games and to avoid playing on public ones until the update was released.
The team plans to address the hacking vulnerabilities as part of a planned overhaul for the game.
At the end of January 2021, players reported on Twitter the return of Eris Loris' hack attack, which is now distributing ''Among Us'' cheats.
Reception
''Among Us'' was well received by critics. On the aggregator website
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the PC port received a 85 of 100 score based on 9 critic reviews, while the
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
version received a 79 of 100 score based on 9 critic reviews, both them indicating "generally favorable reviews".
It was also considered one of the "Best PC Games for 2018", being ranked 17th, and as the "#38 Best Discussed PC Game of 2018". Since December 2020, ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' considered it one of 2020's best reviewed games so far.
Elliott Osange of ''Bonus Stage'' considered that the game is "silly fun", but felt that is more fun "to be an Impostor".
Craig Pearson of ''
Rock, Paper, Shotgun
''Rock Paper Shotgun'' (also rendered ''Rock, Paper, Shotgun''; short ''RPS'') is a UK-based website for reporting on video games, primarily for PC. Originally launched on 13 July 2007 as an independent site, ''Rock Paper Shotgun'' was acquir ...
'' had the same opinion, found playing as an Impostor "a lot more fun" than playing as a Crewmate, which he called "exhausting".
In reference to the game's popularity among streamers, Evelyn Lau of ''
The National'' said: "Watching the reactions of people trying to guess who the impostor is (and sometimes getting it very wrong) or lying terribly about not being the impostor is all quite entertaining."
Alice O'Conner of ''Rock, Paper, Shotgun'' described the game as "Mafia or Werewolf but with minigames". Andrew Penney of ''TheGamer'' said the game was "worth it for the price" and that "who you play with dictates how fun the game is."
L'avis de Tiraxa of ''
Jeuxvideo.com'' praised the game's Freeplay mode, which offers newer players "to browse the map alone to accommodate the places", as they would need to play several games in order to "perfect their strategies".
Leana Hafer from ''
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' stated in her verdict on the game: "I don't have any sus that this will be the last game of its breed to make a splash, since we’re already seeing its influence on even mega-games like Fortnite". As a negative point, she pointed out some technical problems, such as the difficulty of finding rooms that aren't already full or are a long way from getting there. She also lamented the lack of "mechanic to punish players who rage-quit when they don't get to play as impostor, or are caught dead to rights in the middle of a murder".
Tiraxa of ''
Jeuxvideo.com'' was more critical of the game, lamenting the lack of an inbuilt voice chat, server bugs which "
revent
Emily Sophie Hastings Brooke (born November 1985) is a British inventor, industrial designer and entrepreneur known for having developed the Beryl (formerly Blaze) Laserlights used for Santander Cycles (the London bike rental scheme).
Beryl ...
some from joining the party, in a totally unexplained way", public servers with strangers, which she considered "less entertaining" than private servers with friends, and the large development progress, stating that the game has a "bit of a way to go before it reaches its full potential".
The mobile version of the game, although being free-to-play, was criticized. Osange of ''Bonus Stage'' called the presence of ads and in-app purchases of cosmetic changes that are mostly available for free on the PC version "nonsense". He also called the PC version "stable" but also stated that the Android version is "a device-by-device situation".
The Nintendo Switch version received some criticism. William Antonelli of ''
Insider
''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...
'' said that the Switch controls give "many tasks a satisfying game response". However, he also stated that most of the tasks could be "done quickly with the Switch's touchscreen control", which can only be used when the console is in handheld mode. He noted that many of the game's tasks are difficult to complete using a gamepad, which is required when the console is connected to a larger screen, and considered this version "inferior" to the PC and mobile versions.
He also stated that the communication system is "frustrating", as using the joystick to select letters is "slow", and said the fact that the game has support for multiplayer across multiple platforms gives Switch players "immediate disadvantage".
PJ O'Reilly of ''Nintendo Life'' noted that the Switch lacked much of the additional content available on other platforms, such as skins, which he called a "shame".
''Among Us'' has been frequently compared to ''Fall Guys'', as both became popular as party games during the COVID-19 pandemic;
the developers of both games have positively acknowledged each other on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. Comparisons have also been drawn between the two games'
avatars
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance ...
, which have been said to look like
jelly bean
Jelly beans are small bean shaped sugar candies with soft candy shells and thick gel interiors (see gelatin and jelly). The confection is primarily made of sugar and sold in a wide variety of colors and flavors.
History
It has been clai ...
s. ''Among Us'' has also been compared to
''The Thing'',
''
Town of Salem
''Town of Salem'' is an online multiplayer game with social deduction and strategy elements. It was developed and published by indie game developer BlankMediaGames, and released on December 15, 2014. Early alpha and beta versions were browser ...
'',
''Werewolves Within'',
and ''
Secret Hitler
''Secret Hitler'' is a hidden identity social deduction party game developed by Goat, Wolf, & Cabbage LLC, manufactured by Breaking Games and distributed by Blackbox. The board game was designed by Max Temkin, Mike Boxleiter and Tommy Maranges ...
''.
Sales
,
Steam Spy
Steam Spy is a website created by Sergey Galyonkin and launched in April 2015. The site uses an application programming interface (API) to the Steam software distribution service owned by Valve to estimate the number of sales of software titles o ...
estimated that the game had more than owners on
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
. The
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
noted the game was the most downloaded app on the
iOS App Store
The App Store is an app store platform, developed and maintained by Apple Inc., for mobile apps on its iOS and iPadOS operating systems. The store allows users to browse and download approved apps developed within Apple's iOS Software Deve ...
for both
iPhones and
iPad
The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...
s in October 2020. According to
SuperData Research
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...
, the game had roughly players worldwide , with the
free-to-play
Free-to-play (F2P or FtP) video games are games that give players access to a significant portion of their content without paying or do not require paying to continue playing. Free-to-play is distinct from traditional commercial software, which ...
mobile version accounting for 97% of players and the
buy-to-play
Buy-to-play (B2P) is a revenue model for video games where a game can be played after a one-time purchase, as opposed to a subscription model where the player must pay a subscription at regular intervals to continue having access to the game. Buy ...
PC version accounting for 3% of players, though it was the buy-to-play PC version that generated 64% of the game's gross revenue. ''Among Us'' became one of the best selling games of 2020 on Steam, being listed on the platinum category on "The Year's Top 100" list. The
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
version's launch sold digital units in December 2020, making it the highest-earning version of the game for the month and one of the
best-selling games on the Nintendo Switch.
''Among Us'' was offered as a free game on the
Epic Games Store
The Epic Games Store is a digital video game storefront for Microsoft Windows and macOS, operated by Epic Games. It launched in December 2018 as both a website and a standalone launcher, of which the latter is required to download and play gam ...
during one week in May 2021. Its average daily player count jumped from around 350,000 players in the weeks before to over 2 million players during the giveaway. On June 29, 2021, Innersloth reported on
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
that during the game's free promotion on Epic Games Store, at least 15 million copies were claimed.
Awards
Legacy
''Among Us'' has done collaborations and cross-overs with other games and studios. The first game they collaborated with was ''
Fall Guys
''Fall Guys'' (formerly known as ''Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout'') is a free-to-play platform battle royale game developed by Mediatonic. The game involves up to 60 players who control jellybean-like creatures and compete against each other ...
'', who added ''Among Us''-themed skins to their game. Characters from ''Among Us'' have made cameos in the indie games ''
Astroneer
''Astroneer'' is a Sandbox game, sandbox adventure game developed by indie game developer System Era Softworks. The game was released through early access in December 2016 before a full release on December 16, 2019. The player is tasked with col ...
'', ''Sunshine Heavy Industries'', ''
Cosmonious High
''Cosmonious High'' is a virtual reality adventure game developed and published in 2022 by Owlchemy Labs for Steam (service)#SteamVR, SteamVR, HTC Vive, and Oculus Quest 2 through Windows in which students attend a colorful and chaotic high schoo ...
'', and ''
Samurai Gunn 2'', and ''Among Us'' is referenced in several stickers in the game ''
A Hat in Time
''A Hat in Time'' is a platform game developed by Danish game studio Gears for Breakfast and published by Humble Bundle. The game was developed using Unreal Engine 3 and funded through a Kickstarter campaign, which doubled its fundraising goals ...
''. Several ''Among Us''-themed cards are included in ''
The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem''.
Themed skins and cosmetics from other games and properties have been added to ''Among Us'' as well: ''Innersloth'' and ''
Riot Games
Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on t ...
'' crossed-over to bring ''
Arcane
Arcane may refer to:
Books and comics
* Anton Arcane, a DC Comics character
* Arcane Jill Watson, a character in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''
* Arcane literature, such as in Cthulhu Mythos
Gaming
* Arcane magic (''Dungeons & Drago ...
'' themed cosmetics to ''Among Us''. In addition to that, Innersloth has also done crossovers with ''
Halo
Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to:
* Halo (optical phenomenon)
* Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head
HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Video games
* ''Halo'' (franch ...
'', ''
Ratchet & Clank
''Ratchet & Clank'' is a series of action platformer and third-person shooter video games. The franchise was created and developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation consoles, such as PlayStation 2 ...
'', and the movie franchise ''
Scream
Scream may refer to:
*Screaming, a loud vocalization
Amusement rides
* Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany
* Scream! (ride), a tower ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England
* Scream! (roller coaster), at ...
''.
Outside of the game itself ''Innersloth'' has collaborated with ''
BT21
Line Friends (stylized as LINE FRIENDS) are featured characters, invented by South Korean designer Kang Byeong Mok, based on the stickers from diverse applications of the South Korean internet search giant Naver Corporation and the Japanese mes ...
'', and Among Us-themed posters were used to advertise the movie ''
Free Guy
''Free Guy'' is a 2021 American science fiction action comedy film directed and produced by Shawn Levy from a screenplay by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn, and a story by Lieberman. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Utkars ...
''. The "ejected" animation was referenced in the season 2 trailer for the animated series ''
Snoopy in Space
''Snoopy in Space'' is an animated television Television series, series inspired by the ''Peanuts'' comic strip by Charles M. Schulz. Developed by Mark Evestaff and Betsy Walters, and produced by WildBrain Studios, the show debuted on November 1, ...
'', and the Emergency Meeting screen was used in ''
In Space with Markiplier
''A Heist with Markiplier'' is a 2019 interactive comedy heist television special written and directed by Mark Fischbach, better known by his online pseudonym Markiplier. The film stars Fischbach, as well as Rosanna Pansino, Matthew Patrick, a ...
''. Among Us was also featured as a question on ''
Jeopardy!
''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
'' ''Among Us'' is seen being played by characters in the 2022 film ''
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.''
Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc. is an American video game and software developer and publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney as Potomac Computer Systems in 1991, originally located in his parents' house in Potomac, M ...
featured a community-created game mode in ''
Fortnite Creative
''Fortnite Creative'' is a sandbox game, developed and published by Epic Games, part of the video game ''Fortnite''. It was released on December 6, 2018 for Microsoft Windows, macOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, Nintendo Switch, and Android.
...
'' in December 2020 called "The Spy Within", which had very similar mechanics to ''Among Us'', in which among ten players, the others have to complete tasks to earn enough coins within a limited time while trying to deduce which two players are trying to sabotage that effort. Epic later added another (official and internally-developed) limited mode to ''Fortnite'' called "Impostors" in August 2021, which was recognized as even a closer take on ''Among Us'', as the same basic mechanics as "The Spy Within" were used, but now taking place within an underground bunker with a layout similar to the ''Among Us'' map. Innersloth responded in frustration to this mode, which gave no credit to Innersloth. Innersloth's co-founder Marcus Bromander stated "Is it really that hard to put 10% more effort into putting your own spin on it though?", while studio representative Callum Underwood said that Innersloth was open to collaborations, "Just ask and if you follow some basic rules it's usually fine". In an October 2021 blog posting, Epic Games did credit Innersloth and ''Among Us'' as inspirations for the "Impostors" mode.
On December 28, 2021, H2 Interactive, who publishes ''Among Us'' in Japan, announced that a
one-shot
One shot may refer to:
Film and television
* One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so
* ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake
* ''One Shot'' (2 ...
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
based on the game will be published in ''
Bessatsu CoroCoros April issue on February 28, 2022. On January 13, Innersloth began promoting the manga on their official
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
account.
Artificial intelligence research
A simplified variation of Among Us called Hidden Agenda is used in the field of
multi-agent reinforcement learning
]
Multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) is a sub-field of reinforcement learning. It focuses on studying the behavior of multiple learning agents that coexist in a shared environment. Each agent is motivated by its own rewards, and does acti ...
to show that
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
agents are able to learn a variety of social behaviors, including partnering and voting without need for communication in natural language.
See also
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Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the video game industry
The video game industry has been substantially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in various ways, most often due to concerns over travel to and from China or elsewhere, and delays in the manufacturing processes within China.
Overview
In contrast ...
Notes
References
External links
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2018 video games
2020 in Internet culture
2020s fads and trends
Android (operating system) games
Golden Joystick Award winners
IOS games
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the video game industry
Indie video games
Manga based on video games
Multiplayer online games
Nintendo Switch games
Party video games
PlayStation 4 games
PlayStation 5 games
Science fiction video games
Social deduction video games
Strategy video games
Survival video games
The Game Awards winners
Video games about extraterrestrial life
Video games about shapeshifting
Video games developed in the United States
Video games set in outer space
Video games set on fictional planets
Video games with cross-platform play
Video games with customizable avatars
Webby Award winners
Windows games
Xbox One games
Xbox Series X and Series S games