Among Us released over two years ago in 2018, but the online game is currently seeing a massive boost in popularity that began earlier this September. Over quarantine there wasn’t much socializing going on, causing people to become bored. When Among Us suddenly became popular, everyone seemed to enjoy talking to each other and making internet friends, so the game brought people together without meeting in real life. 

Among Us was created by InnerSloth, a development team responsible for other games like Dig2China and The Henry Stickmin Collection. The set up of Among Us is simple: there are 4-10 players who act either as crew mates or the 1-3 imposters. The imposter tries to deceive everyone by faking tasks and blending in with the crew mates. While doing all this, the imposter tries to win by killing the crew mates. 

When a cremate discovers a body that is dead, they can report the body or click the emergency button. After reporting the body, there is a meeting that happens in the group chat, and everyone tries to figure out who the imposter is. When everyone collectively decides on who to vote for, that person is kicked out, turning them into a “ghost.” This player joins the people who were killed. Sometimes the person that is voted off is not the imposter, so everyone goes back to figuring out who the imposter is. 

The game was really popular on TikTok. Creators would make animations or stories that poke fun at familiar scenarios that happen while playing, like completely denying that you’re the imposter, only to get ejected anyway. Creators also do voice overs while playing the game, making everything more interesting and relatable.

The game isn’t the only thing that is virally popular; InnerSloth has earned a great deal of profit by selling merchandise on their website, like shirts, cups, socks, and other must-have items. They also make money by selling “pets” in the game. According to AMONG US WIKI, “The pets are two crewmates (one a miniature version of the player, another a Wall-E themed robot), a little ‘hamster’ that more closely resembles a blue dog, a brown hamster in a ball, two Stickmins (Henry and Ellie), a small UFO, two headcrabs (one orange and blue, the other brown), and the Twitch logo which can only be acquired exclusively from a Twitch Drop.” 

Among Us is very easy to play and understand which makes it easy for streamers to gain more followers and viewers, and the conversations about who is “sus” are great entertainment for active livestream chats. 

Overall the creators have made the best game of 2018, by making it simple for everyone either young or old to play. The game has brought many people together especially over these hard times. Its resurgence in 2020 illustrates how effective the game’s formula truly is.