Among Us and the future of video gaming

As of last Friday, minimalistic mystery video game “Among Us” has grown its active user base to over 3.5 million users. In its first six months, the game had an average player count of eight users. How did it achieve this unheard of rise in popularity in such a competitive market?

Among Us is a mystery game that consists of 4-10 players, composed of crewmates and one impostor who must hide their identity. The crewmates go around completing tasks, all the while attempting to avoid being killed by the impostor. 

Crewmates can find and report dead bodies, allowing for the ship’s inhabitants to engage in a group vote. Did I mention the game takes place on a spaceship?

A fairly simple premise, yet there is an unbelievable amount of fun to be had when playing. If you haven’t heard, Zoom calls have gotten popular over the past six months. While I’m not an expert, I believe this has something to do with the majority of the population being quarantined inside their homes.

Due to these unfortunate circumstances, 2020 has been boring for the vast majority of Americans, now confined in their homes without a social life. Over the past month, Among Us saw its player base expand exponentially, thanks in part to online streaming platform Twitch.tv.

If you’re unaware, Twitch allows people around the world to live stream whatever they decide to millions on the internet. Over the summer, another multiplayer game grew rapidly in popularity: Fall Guys.

Fall Guys is an obstacle course based video game, designed to pit 50 or more players against each other in an effort to see who comes out victorious in the end. At its peak, Fall Guys had an average of 156,000 players online at any moment. That’s a lot of people running around as colorful bean shaped figures, racing each other on brightly colored obstacle courses.

For a while, it looked like this would be the game of the year. The savior of quarantine. The ultimate boredom buster. 

Wrong.

Just recently, a popular streamer on Twitch, going by the name of Sodapoppin, streamed Among Us to his 2.7 million followers. Shortly after, the game attracted attention from all corners of the internet, streamers and non-streamers alike. Since then, it’s exploded.

At the time, Fall Guys was still booming in popularity, with no end in sight. Little did the developers know, an indie game created in 2018 would go on to snatch away all their players. With a more social, innovative and enjoyable experience than Fall Guys could have ever brought, Among Us became the #1 most viewed topic on Twitch. 

Due to its low barrier to entry (either a $5 purchase on PC or a free mobile app), Among Us has attracted those both young and old and managed to unite a population that has found itself starved for social interaction.

The video game scene can be very competitive and this is yet another example highlighting the attention span of the internet. In a matter of days, you can have the #1 game in the world lose hundreds of thousands of players, all because of some flashy new game. In Among Us’s case, the design is hardly flashy, yet succeeded due to its social nature.

Fall Guys failed due to its $20 price and console exclusivity, leaving a gap in the market for Among Us to steal the show. Maybe going forward, gamers will realize it isn’t often a flashy game with ultra 4K graphics that will provide enjoyment. It’s the relationships we share with those who play online with us. 

Personally, the times I’ve played Among Us have been some of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had on a video game in months. At the beginning of quarantine, some friends and I got back into Fortnite, but this was fairly short lived.

Getting into lighthearted arguments over the impostor is a ton of fun, and outwitting your fellow players provides a different experience every single game, something that many games cannot compete with.

If you’re a fan of Clue or simply enjoy messing around and trying to outsmart your friends, Among Us is the game for you. Be warned: it’s pretty addictive, so don’t get too caught up trying to figure out who’s double crossing you.