TREND OF 2021: CONNECTION

Playing together with Among Us

A multiplayer mystery connects friends (and Impostors!) the world over.

Among Us!

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Among Us!

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Among Us is our 2021 Trend of the Year winner because... the hugely popular social whodunnit expanded its community to be richer and tighter-knit than ever.

‣ Number of tasks completed since launch: 72.2 billion
‣ Number of games ended by the Impostor being voted out: 23.3 billion
‣ Number of unicorn hats added this year: 1

In a year when social circles had to stay pretty tight, Among Us managed to bring together players of all ages. Whether you’re a goodie trying to repair your spaceship or a ruthless murderer trying to sabotage it, this is easy-to-play fun for everyone.

The enormous Airship map took tactics and treachery to new heights.

Figuring out who’s an Impostor and who’s not – or lying through your teeth about it – is the essence of the game. The more you play, the better you get to know even those you thought you knew well. Who would have guessed your favourite aunt, trusted colleague or unassuming classmate could lie so convincingly?

This year, Among Us became a way to strengthen real-life communities too. “The best part has been all the charity games people put on,” says Victoria Tran, community director at Among Us developer Innersloth. Talk show host Jimmy Fallon and members of the Roots went head-to-head with stars from Stranger Things in a live Twitch stream to raise funds for Feeding America. Organisations such as the Los Angeles Downtown Women’s Center, LGBTQ+ support group the Trevor Project and Extra Life (a programme of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals) hosted benefit streams of their own.

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Meanwhile, Innersloth kept the Among Us world growing with a long-awaited update, adding the Airship, the game’s biggest map so far. It brought new areas to explore and perform tasks in – such as the majestic cockpit and ambush-ready electrical room – and for the first time, players needed ladders to go between floors. The Airship’s arrival felt like an epic event, and player interest peaked.

Charity events allowed people to talk about a good cause while having fun.

– Victoria Tran, Among Us community director

“As a small indie team, we aren’t able to update as often as we’d like,” says Tran. “The fact that our community is so psyched when we do means a lot.”

More recently, the team also upped the maximum number of players per round, from 10 to 15. Turns out letting more people work together to save the ship (or destroy it!) heightens the hijinks considerably.

This was by design, says Tran. “Bringing people together and giving them a fun place to be is always the goal.”