Among Us is a 2018 online multiplayer game created by the American company Innersloth. It allows players to join from different devices, including iOS and Android phones in June 2018, Windows computers in November 2018, Nintendo Switch in December 2020, and PlayStation, Xbox, and newer versions of those consoles in December 2021. A version for virtual reality, called Among Us 3D, was released on November 10, 2022.
The game is set in space-themed environments where players control colorful, cartoon-like astronauts without arms. Players are assigned one of two roles: most are Crewmates, who must complete tasks and identify fake players called Impostors, or Impostors, who try to kill Crewmates. The game was inspired by the party game Mafia and the movie The Thing.
Although it was first released in 2018 with little attention, the game became very popular in 2020 when many online streamers and video creators played it during the COVID-19 pandemic. Critics praised the game for its fun and engaging gameplay. The game’s characters and style have also been used in many internet memes.
Gameplay
Among Us is a multiplayer game for four to fifteen players. Up to three players are randomly chosen as Impostors each round, depending on the number of players and the host's choice. As of 2023, five maps are available: a spaceship named "The Skeld," an office called "MIRA HQ," a planet base called "Polus," "The Airship," a setting from the Henry Stickmin series, and "The Fungle," a jungle map with mushrooms. Crewmates can win by completing all tasks or ejecting all Impostors. Impostors can win by killing or ejecting enough Crewmates to match their number or by sabotaging a critical system if Crewmates do not fix it in time.
At the start of the game, Crewmates are given tasks to complete, such as fixing wires or downloading data. Impostors cannot complete tasks but may pretend to do so. Impostors can sabotage systems, like turning off lights or stopping oxygen, which requires Crewmates to act quickly to avoid harm. Impostors can move through vents and kill Crewmates. Maps have surveillance tools, like security cameras on "The Skeld," door logs on "MIRA HQ," and a vitals monitor on "Polus" that shows who is alive. Some tasks, like scanning in a medbay, provide visual clues that help Crewmates identify Impostors.
Any player can call a meeting by reporting a dead body or pressing an emergency button. During meetings, players discuss who they think is an Impostor using text chat or voice apps like Discord. Impostors may lie or falsely accuse others. If a player gets the most votes, they are ejected. Ejected or killed players become ghosts and can still perform tasks or sabotage but cannot interact with living players.
In November 2021, new roles were added: Engineers, Scientists, and regular Crewmates. The first Crewmate to die becomes a Guardian Angel, who can protect others. Engineers can move through vents briefly, while Impostors can stay in vents longer. Scientists can check if anyone was killed. Impostors can also be Shapeshifters, who can temporarily copy another player's appearance. In June 2024, three more roles were added: Noisemakers (who alert others when killed), Trackers (who follow players), and Phantoms (who can briefly hide). In September 2025, Detectives (who investigate murders) and Vipers (who erase evidence) were added.
A "Hide and Seek" mode was added in December 2022. One Impostor, known as the seeker, tries to kill all Crewmates before a timer ends. Crewmates must hide or complete tasks to slow the timer. Impostors cannot sabotage or use vents in this mode. Crewmates see their distance from the seeker and how many are left. Near the end, the seeker can see where Crewmates are.
Before each game, players can adjust settings like movement speed, the number of tasks, or whether Impostors are revealed after being ejected. Players can also choose custom outfits, such as skins, hats, and pets, some of which require purchases.
Development and release
Among Us was inspired by the live party game Mafia and the science fiction horror film The Thing. Marcus Bromander, co-founder of Innersloth, first suggested the idea after playing Mafia as a child. In the original game, players received function cards and moved around a house while one person secretly killed others by drawing a finger around their neck. Many of these mechanics were included in Among Us, but the team wanted to avoid creating a boring environment. They changed the setting to space and added tasks, which Forest Willard, a programmer at Innersloth, said "changed several times during development."
Development began in November 2017. The game was initially planned as a mobile-only local multiplayer game with one map. Bromander paused work on Innersloth's other game, The Henry Stickmin Collection, to create Among Us's first map, The Skeld. The team originally planned for the ship to be in constant crisis and for Impostors to complete tasks, but they found this setup "stressful" and changed it so players had more time for detective work and meetings. Playtesting was difficult, as the game often broke during sessions, requiring Willard to send new builds to testers through Google Play. The team tested the game with 8 friends but never tested it with 9 or 10 players. The game was built using the Unity engine.
Among Us was released in June 2018 for Android and iOS under the AppID "spacemafia." After release, the game had 30 to 50 players playing at the same time. Bromander said the poor initial reception was due to Innersloth's "bad marketing." The team almost gave up on the project multiple times but kept working because of a small but active player base. They added online multiplayer, new tasks, and customization options. The game was released on Steam on November 16, 2018, with cross-platform support. Originally, the game had no audio to prevent hidden information sharing in local settings. Willard used sounds from multiple packs to create the game's sound effects for the Steam version.
On August 8, 2019, Innersloth released a second map, MIRA HQ, which is a "tightly packed headquarters" similar in size to The Skeld. A third map, Polus, was added on November 12, 2019, and is set in a research station. A fourth map, the Airship, was released on March 31, 2021, and is based on a location from the Henry Stickmin universe. MIRA HQ and Polus originally cost US$4 via in-app purchase but were later reduced to US$2 and then made free on June 11, 2020. These maps now only provide cosmetic items. Willard said the team "stuck with [the game] longer than expected," regularly updating it as often as once per week. This led to a steady increase in players, which Bromander credited to Innersloth having enough savings to continue development despite low sales.
In August 2020, the team shifted focus to a sequel, Among Us 2. During this time, Willard and Amy Liu continued updating the original game, increasing the maximum player base, adding four servers, three regions, and longer multiplayer codes. On September 23, 2020, the team canceled the sequel to rework the game's outdated codebase. They planned to fix server issues, reduce cheating, and add a system to ban disruptive players. In October 2020, colorblind support for the "wires" task was added to the Steam beta, along with new lobby customization options.
In mid-February 2021, the game introduced Quickchat, a feature that replaces standard chat with preset phrases. Players under 13 must use Quickchat, while older players can use Free Chat. The Airship map was released on March 31, 2021, and includes multiple floors, tasks, and a skin based on Geoff Keighley's face from The Game Awards. The map is free to all players and includes Henry Stickmin-themed cosmetics available on Steam.
An accounts system was added, allowing players to report others for violating Innersloth's Code of Conduct. Punishments include temporary or permanent bans. Reports are reviewed manually, not by bots. Players must create accounts to use Free Chat or customize nicknames, and those under 13 need parental permission. The accounts system also enabled future updates like account linking and a friending system. Innersloth later added a new color, Rose, along with five others, during Summer Game Fest. These colors, along with 15-player lobby support, a redesigned meeting screen, and other updates, were released on June 15, 2021, during the game's third anniversary.
On July 7, 2021, a minor update added a new task called "Clean Vent," which prevents Impostors and Engineers from using a vent. A major update on November 9, 2021, introduced four new roles (Shapeshifter, Engineer, Scientist, and Guardian Angel), achievements, a level system, controller support, and cosmetic bundles. On March 31, 2022, a friending system was added, allowing players to send friend requests, block others, and track recent matches. Colorblind text support was added on June 21, 2022. At The Game Awards 2022, the Hide & Seek mode was announced for release the next day.
During a Nintendo Direct on September 14, 2023, the fifth map, "The Fungle," was announced and released on October 24, 2023. On March 25, 2025, an update improved matchmaking and included a collaboration with Sega's Like a Dragon series, as a Crewmate had previously appeared in Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble. On September 10, 2025, the Detective and Viper roles were introduced. Amid its popularity, Innersloth considered releasing the game to PlayStation.
Reception
Among Us received positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the PC version earned an 85 out of 100 score based on 9 reviews, while the Nintendo Switch version received a 79 out of 100 score based on 9 reviews. Both versions were described as having "generally favorable reviews." The game was listed as one of the "Best PC Games for 2018," ranked 17th, and also named the "#38 Best Discussed PC Game of 2018." Since December 2020, IGN included it in its list of "best reviewed games so far" for 2020.
Elliott Osange of Bonus Stage said the game is "silly fun," but he found playing as an Impostor more enjoyable than playing as a Crewmate, which he called "exhausting." Craig Pearson of Rock, Paper, Shotgun shared the same view, calling the Crewmate role "exhausting." Evelyn Lau of The National noted that watching players guess who the Impostor is and sometimes make mistakes or lie is entertaining. Alice O'Conner of Rock, Paper, Shotgun described the game as similar to "Mafia or Werewolf but with minigames." Andrew Penney of TheGamer said the game is "worth it for the price" and that the fun depends on who you play with. L'avis de Tiraxa of Jeuxvideo.com praised the Freeplay mode, which allows new players to explore the map alone to learn the layout before playing with others.
Leana Hafer of IGN said the game's influence is growing, even affecting larger games like Fortnite. However, she mentioned technical issues, such as difficulty finding empty rooms and no punishment for players who quit early or are caught committing crimes. Tiraxa of Jeuxvideo.com criticized the lack of voice chat, server bugs that prevent some players from joining, and the need to play with strangers on public servers, which she found less fun than private servers with friends. She also said the game still needs improvements to reach its full potential. The mobile version, which is free to play, faced criticism for including ads and in-app purchases for cosmetic items that are free on PC. Osange of Bonus Stage called these features "nonsense" and said the PC version is more stable, while the Android version has issues depending on the device.
The Nintendo Switch version had mixed reviews. William Antonelli of Insider said the Switch controls feel satisfying for some tasks but noted that tasks are easier to complete using the touchscreen when the console is in handheld mode. He also said that using a gamepad to complete tasks when connected to a larger screen is difficult, making the Switch version "inferior" to PC and mobile versions. He criticized the slow letter selection system for communication and said the ability to play across platforms gives Switch players a disadvantage. PJ O'Reilly of Nintendo Life said the Switch version lacks extra content like skins, which he called a "shame."
Among Us is often compared to Fall Guys, as both became popular party games during the COVID-19 pandemic. The developers of both games have praised each other on social media. Comparisons have also been made to other games like The Thing, Town of Salem, Werewolves Within, and Secret Hitler.
As of September 2020, Steam Spy estimated the game had over 10 million owners on Steam. The Associated Press reported that Among Us was the most downloaded app on the iOS App Store in October 2020. SuperData Research said the game had about 500 million players worldwide in November 2020, with 97% playing the free mobile version and 3% playing the paid PC version. The PC version generated 64% of the game's revenue. Among Us became one of the best-selling games on Steam in 2020 and was listed on the "Year's Top 100" list. The Nintendo Switch version sold 3.2 million digital copies in December 2020, making it the highest-earning version for that month and one of the best-selling games on the Switch.
Among Us was offered for free on the Epic Games Store for one week in May 2021. Its daily player count increased from about 350,000 before the giveaway to over 2 million during the promotion. Innersloth reported on Twitter that at least 15 million copies were claimed during the free promotion.
Revenue from Among Us helped Innersloth create a publishing label called Outersloth to support other indie developers. Outersloth uses a model where it invests in games and shares revenue with developers after recouping initial costs. Innersloth wanted to support other developers after seeing the success of the game Mars First Logistics, which led to the creation of Outersloth. Outersloth was announced in 2024 as part of the Summer Game Fest.
In popular culture
Among Us was first released in 2018, but it became very popular in mid-2020. This growth was helped by online content creators in South Korea and Brazil. Bromander noted that the game is more popular in Mexico, Brazil, and South Korea than in the United States. Willard said that Twitch streamer Sodapoppin first introduced the game to a large audience on Twitch in July 2020. Soon after, many other popular Twitch streamers and YouTubers, including xQc, Pokimane, Shroud, Ninja, MrBeast, Disguised Toast, and PewDiePie, also played and shared the game.
The COVID-19 pandemic helped increase the game’s popularity because it allowed people to stay connected with others even when they could not meet in person. Emma Kent of Eurogamer believed that the release of Innersloth’s The Henry Stickmin Collection also helped raise awareness of Among Us. PC Gamer’s Wes Fenlon said that Twitch streamer SR_Kaif played a key role in preparing the game for its big moment. Fenlon also said that Among Us improved on other games inspired by Mafia, like Secret Hitler, by offering a fresh idea. He noted that other games, such as Town of Salem and Werewolves Within, only added online features to old rules, while Among Us was a new version of the concept. Along with Fall Guys and the Jackbox Party Packs, Among Us offered a game without a story, which helped people avoid the stress of the pandemic, according to M.J. Lewis of Wired.
The game stayed popular for many months. In September 2020, YouTube reported that videos about Among Us were watched 4 billion times. In October 2020, TikTok videos related to the game had over 13 billion views. YouTuber CG5 made a song called "Show Yourself" based on the game in September 2020, and it received over 60 million views in four months. In September 2020, the game reached 100 million downloads, with 1.5 million players online at the same time (about 400,000 of them on Steam). The number of players later reached 3.8 million. This sudden increase caused the game’s servers to slow down, which Willard said was due to a free Amazon server that was not strong enough. He had to work quickly to fix the problem.
In August 2020, Innersloth started selling merchandise inspired by Among Us. The game’s popularity led to many songs, fan art, and internet memes. Willard said that fan-created content was the best part of making Among Us. Bromander called it his favorite thing to see. The game also popularized the slang word "sus," which means "suspicious" or "suspect." Other words and memes from the game include "sussy" and "sussy baka," "when the imposter is sus," and "amogus." The phrase "Among Us everywhere" describes when unexpected objects look like the game’s Crewmate character. In September 2022, "sus" was added to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary.
During its popularity, Among Us was controversially played by the U.S. Navy Esports team. Some players used in-game names that referenced offensive terms and historical events. The stream was criticized as "offensive" and "intolerable" by some viewers. The sailor who was involved was later removed from the team. In October 2020, U.S. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar played the game with other streamers like Pokimane and Hasan Piker to encourage people to vote in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. The event had nearly 700,000 viewers on Twitch.
Players created many custom changes for the game, adding new roles, game modes, and cosmetics. Among Us was also part of Twitch Rivals 2020, an online gaming tournament held on December 4, 2020. During the event, players could earn an exclusive pet called "Glitch Pet," which looks like the Twitch logo.
In May 2021, an eBay user named Tav sold a Chicken McNugget from the 2021 BTS Meal by McDonald’s because it looked like a Crewmate. The nugget was inspired by a 2017 auction for a Cheeto that resembled the gorilla Harambe, which sold for $99,900. Tav expected the nugget to sell for about $50, but a bidding war began, and it was sold for $99,997. After comments from Xbox, Tav added Szechuan sauce to the auction. News outlets said the high price was due to internet memes. Later, other sellers tried to profit from the popularity of the original auction. Some TikTokers and people connected to QAnon spread false claims that the auction was linked to child sex trafficking. In 2022, the nugget was recognized by Guinness World Records as the "most expensive chicken nugget sold at an online auction." That October, a Chilean chicken brand called Super Pollo partnered with Innersloth to launch a Crewmate-shaped chicken nugget into the Earth’s thermosphere.
In mid-October 2020, a hacker named "Eris Loris" targeted North American servers. Players on the Among Us subreddit and Twitter reported that Eris Loris hacked their games and sent messages promoting his YouTube channel, links to his Discord server, and controversial political ideas. He threatened to hack players who did not subscribe to his channel. The Discord server contained offensive content, including racist language, violent images, and material that showed animal abuse.
A Eurogamer report from October 23, 2020, included an interview with someone claiming to be Eris Loris, conducted through one of the links in the hacked games. Loris said he created the hacking bot in six hours and used 50 volunteers to attack the game. He claimed the hack affected 4.9 million players in 1.5 million games and was part of a plan to influence people to vote for Donald Trump in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Innersloth added a message in the game warning players about the hacking on October 22 and released a statement on Twitter the next day. They said they were working to fix the issue and advised players to avoid public games until an update was released. The team planned to address the hacking problem during a planned game overhaul. In January 2021, players reported that Eris Loris returned and started sharing cheats for Among Us.
Legacy
Among Us has worked with other games and studios to create special features. The first game they partnered with was Fall Guys, which added Among Us-themed skins to their game. Characters from Among Us appeared in the indie games Astroneer, Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator, Cosmonious High, Samurai Gunn 2, and Fraymakers. Among Us was also mentioned in stickers within the game A Hat in Time. In a major update with Innersloth, indie developer Triband added characters and 35 Among Us-themed levels to the game What the Golf? Several Among Us-themed cards were included in The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem. Among Us also appeared as a skin for the Hearts suit in Balatro, using Crewmates instead of the King, Queen, and Jack. The Crewmate became a playable DLC character in Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble in January 2025. Triband also created a similar collaboration for What the Car? in 2025.
Other games and properties have added themed skins and cosmetics to Among Us. Innersloth and Riot Games worked together to bring Arcane-themed cosmetics to Among Us. Innersloth also partnered with Halo, Ratchet & Clank, and the Scream movie franchise. Cosmetics based on Benoit Blanc from Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery were added with the Hide 'N Seek update on December 9, 2022. Cosmetics and pets inspired by Destiny 2 were added to match Destiny's Lightfall expansion on February 28, 2023. Cosmetics based on Miles Edgeworth from the Ace Attorney series were added on September 9, 2024, to match the release of the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection. Cosmetics inspired by Pusheen were also added to the game.
Outside the game, Innersloth worked with BT21, and Among Us-themed posters were used to advertise the movie Free Guy. The "ejected" animation appeared in the season 2 trailer for the animated series Snoopy in Space, and the Emergency Meeting screen was used in In Space with Markiplier. In the manga series Komi Can't Communicate, one chapter focuses on the game, showing characters dressed as Crewmates. Among Us was also mentioned as a question on Jeopardy! and appeared in the 2022 film Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
Epic Games added a community-created game mode called "The Spy Within" to Fortnite Creative in December 2020, which had mechanics similar to Among Us. Later, Epic added an official mode called "Impostors" in August 2021, which closely resembled Among Us. Innersloth was upset because the mode did not credit them. Innersloth's co-founder, Marcus Bromander, said, "Is it really that hard to put 10% more effort into putting your own spin on it?" A studio representative, Callum Underwood, stated Innersloth was open to collaborations if basic rules were followed. In October 2021, Epic Games credited Innersloth and Among Us as inspirations for "Impostors." On June 17, 2022, Epic and Innersloth announced a collaboration, adding a Crewmate "back bling" and the "Distraction Dance" from Henry Stickmin to Fortnite. An Among Us-themed downloadable content expansion for Vampire Survivors, titled "Emergency Meeting," was released on December 18, 2023.
A simplified version of Among Us called Hidden Agenda is used in the field of multi-agent reinforcement learning to show that artificial intelligence agents can learn social behaviors, such as working together and voting, without needing to communicate in natural language.
Adaptations
On December 28, 2021, H2 Interactive, the company that publishes Among Us in Japan, announced that a one-shot manga based on the game would appear in the April issue of Bessatsu CoroCoro on February 28, 2022.
On June 27, 2023, it was confirmed that an animated series based on Among Us is being created by CBS Studios, with Owen Dennis, the creator of Infinity Train, as the showrunner. On March 15, 2024, it was announced that American actors Randall Park, Yvette Nicole Brown, Elijah Wood, and Ashley Johnson would voice the characters Red, Orange, Green, and Purple, respectively. On March 27, 2024, Dan Stevens, Liv Hewson, and Kimiko Glenn were added to the cast as Blue, Black, and Cyan. On April 4, 2024, Debra Wilson, Patton Oswalt, Phil LaMarr, and Wayne Knight joined the cast, playing Yellow, White, Brown, and Lime. The first official trailer premiered at Summer Game Fest on June 7, 2024. Production finished in October, but the series does not have a distributor yet.