10 Facts About Among Us, the Game That’s Taking Over the Internet

Last Updated on 2020-11-18 , 7:22 pm

Aside from binge-watching Netflix and making Dalgona Coffee, perhaps the most popular past time among Singaporeans during the Circuit Breaker (CB) period is playing online games.

Drawing games like Skribbl became a hit. While for those who can’t draw, games such as Cards Against Humanity were popular.

For those who are familiar with the gaming world, Among Us will be one of the games you have played during these past few months.

But what’s this game that’s taking the world by storm – even after the Circuit Breaker?

Here are 10 facts about Among Us you probably didn’t know about.

1. Game was Released in 2018 with a Small Number of Downloads

Among Us was released in 2018 by Innersloth. The concept is similar to Werewolf, which is a game of deception.

The game can host up to 10 players.

Set in space, 4 to 10 players take on the role of spaceship crew members preparing for a departure. There are some players who will be randomly assigned to play the role of alien imposters. These imposters’ goals are to kill and frame crewmembers, sabotage the ship, without getting caught.

The person with the most votes as the imposter, will then be exiled, whether they are innocent or not.

Check out the official trailer here:

The game’s popularity wasn’t that high when it was launched two years ago. According to SensorTower, it was estimated that Among Us had fewer than 1,000 downloads when it was first released.

2. Game was Developed by a Team of Three

Among Us was developed by Forest Willard, Amy Liu and Marcus Bromande. The developer, Innersloth, is a company based in Washington.

Aside from Among Us, the company also developed games such as Dig2China in 2015 and the Henry Stickmin collection in 2020.

Marcus Bromande is also known as Puffballs United. He is also the creator of the Henry Stickmin series.

3. Gained Popularity in 2020 due to Twitch Streamers and YouTubers Playing the Game

So what made Among Us shot to fame two years later?

The craze caught on in 2020 when popular Twitch streamers such as Sodapoppin and Pewdiepie were playing the game on Twitch a few months back.

Twitch is a live streaming platform for gamers, where Pewdiepie and Sodapoppin have 1.2 million and 2.8 million followers on that platform respectively.

Many famous internet personalities jumped on the bandwagon and played the game, which quickly catapulted Among Us to fame.

4. More Than 85 Million Downloads

With an increasing number of people hearing about the game, the number of downloads increased by an exponential rate in 2020.

According to SensorTower, there were more than 85 million downloads for the game, where the surge came in August and September.

Downloads rose by 661% to 18.4 million in August 2020 as compared to July, while the numbers further increased to 41.9 million downloads in the month of September.

It’s a vast comparison as compared to the game’s 1.1 million downloads at the start of 2020, thanks to the Twitch streamers’ publicity for the game.

5. The Game is so Popular That There are Memes and TikToks for it

You know a game has made it when there are memes swirling around the internet world.

Among Us memes are aplenty online. From those that redefines the definition of team work to reference about the game’s deception roots, they are appearing in many chats and social media platforms.

And yes, even HDB and SCDF have jumped on the bandwagon:

The Tiktok world was also abuzzed with Among Us short clips. According to Junkee, #AmongUs has already garnered over six billion views.

Some TikTok videos include having a relevant song to accompany the game’s situation, while others are about the tactics used to catch the imposters.

You can check out some TikTok videos here:

@earleneshefilatertipu ##amongus ##amongustupid ##amongusvideo♬ original sound – mockingjay archer

@shaindiamondThis makes me ✨mad✨ ##amongus ##amongustupid ##amongusclip ##amongusfunny ##amongusimposter ##amongusimpostor ##amongusmeme ##amongusgame ##impostor♬ original sound – Shain Diamond

6. The Merchandise Were so Popular That They Were Sold Out Within Weeks

With its popularity, Innersloth released related merchandises for hardcore fans to purchase on its online store.

They include items for you to wear and hug such as plushie and t-shirts, which come in handy while you are playing the game and need something to hug real tight while trying to find the imposter.

Preorders were opened in August and they were sold out within a few weeks due to its popularity.

7. There was a Second Instalment Which Got Cancelled

Similar to popular movies, there’s naturally a sequel for the game due to its high demand.

According to Innersloth, the game’s sequel, Among Us 2, was confirmed by the developers in August 2020.

However, just last month, Innersloth announced that plans for the sequel have been scrapped.

This is because the developers wanted to focus on expanding the game’s features and content on Among Us 1.

Innersloth said, “All of the content we had planned for Among Us 2 will instead go into Among Us 1.”

Some of the new features include:

• A new stage for Among Us. Innersloth mentioned that the theme for the next stage of the game is going to be a Henry Stickmin themed location. The developers are in the early stages of designing the layout
• The team mentioned that they are figuring out server issues to make the gaming process a smoother one

There is no confirmed date as to when the new and improved version of Among Us will be released.

8. Game can be Downloaded to PC at a Low Price of USD$5

The game is available in Google Play and App Store for free, but do you know that it’s not free if you want to play it on your computer?

At a relatively affordable price of USD$5 on Steam, Among Us can be downloaded to your PC to be played among friends.

According to Dot Esports, the low price point makes Among Us one of the most popular ‘bang-for-your-buck’ games on the market currently.

9. Hackers are Invading the Game

The rising popularity of the game also invited unwanted attention in the form of hackers.

According to Screenrant, some of the hacks involved sped-up movements and instantly killing entire lobbies.

Basically things which ruin the entire game experience for players.

The developers of Innersloth are looking into this issue.

They mentioned that they are rushing to get an account system in place to have better moderation and reporting systems built around. In addition, the company is getting help to make the servers better at detecting and blocking hacks.

10. There is a Dedicated Blog to Find Out about the Game’s Latest Developments

For avid Among Us fans, check out the blog written by the developers here.

Latest news such as bug fixes, the company’s rationale in putting a stop to the game’s sequel can be found here. Written in a personable manner, the developers are keen to keep their fans updated with their latest plan about the game.

Now that you’re familiar with the game, go gather some friends to find out who’s the best liar in the group.

Featured Image: Wachiwit / Shutterstock.com