In the advent of 2020, one little game has risen among us and has taken gamers by storm.
Yes, you saw that pun, and we all know that game is Among Us.
Initially released in 2018, the game found immense popularity once big-name Youtubers like Pewdiepie started streaming and uploading content for the game.
And who doesn’t like playing something where you can, literally and legally, stab your friend in the back?
You can find out more about the origins of the game in this video (and please subscribe to our YouTube channel for more informative and entertaining videos!):
There was even a real-life yellow crewmate (or imposter) spotted on MRTs recently.
But today, we find a similar game that looks…kind of sus.
Among Us Clone Most Downloaded Game in China
I’m calling an emergency meeting on this one.
The game, Werewolf Among Us, apparently became the top free game in the Apple App Store on Monday, 2 Nov.
In China, by the way, not globally.
SCMP reported that according to app tracking firm Qimai Data, the game has had over 478,000 since its 28 October release.
This beat out other local hits like Tencent’s Honour of Kings and Peacekeeper Elite.
And if you’re wondering how big an achievement that is to win over a Tencent game, it is massive.
A quick summary of Tencent: they basically own Riot Games, makers of League of Legends, and developed WeChat, a Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social media and mobile payment app.
So, for developers Shenzhen Youliang Technology, you have to think this was a big deal.
The Gameplay
Among Us is a relatively simple game.
A group of players are sorted as “crewmates” or “imposters”.
Crewmates have to clear all their tasks while finding imposters, while the latter need to pose as a crewmate while sabotaging and killing the rest off.
Werewolf Among Us does all of that as well but with one twist.
It’s in a medieval-style castle instead of a spaceship.
That’s it, that’s the big reveal.
Barring different character models and the setting, it’s the same game.
Why It Was Copied
This begets the question in everyone’s mind: why do consumers continue to download these rip-off games?
Even the aforementioned Honour of Kings and Peacekeeper Elite are League of Legends and PUBG clones.
Well, at least for Among Us’ case, the game currently does not support the Chinese language.
However, Qimai reports that the game has been downloaded about 885,000 times in the last three months in China across both on the App Store and Steam.
In fact, Among Us is the 10th most downloaded game in China.
This was despite lukewarm receptions to the game, as it was touted as just a “space” version of Werewolf, another party game which ran on similar mechanics.
However, the game was still stated to not be ideal for the Chinese market due to language restrictions and network issues.
Logically speaking, you could understand why Chinese gamers would flock to this clone.
Zheng Jintiao, the co-founder of online media outlet GamerBoom, says that for games like Among Us, having Chinese language support is already a huge draw.
“There will be downloads no matter how terrible the game may be.”
However, he also feels that big companies won’t take the risk since it might be hard to monetise locally.
I guess the imposters win, this time.
Not All Imposters Win
But sometimes, maybe the crew DOES finish all their tasks and leave the imposters in the dust.
This was the case when last year, Blizzard filed a lawsuit against Sina Games for heavily ripping off characters from World of Warcraft.
The copycat game, Glorious Saga, had ripped off the exact characters and in-game items from Blizzard’s hit game.
Even things like promotional materials were seemingly copied.
Blizzard wanted to stop this and demanded roughly S$203,087 per infringed work from Sina as compensation.
Glorious Saga was then taken down in late August 2019.
Featured Image: Gizmo China & Shenzhen Youliang Technology
Watch this for a complete summary of what REALLY happened to Qoo10, and why it's like a K-drama:
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