With ominous music signaling that something is not right, there pops up a warning: “There are 2 Imposters among us.” This announcement is not from just any social deception game with the purpose of guessing who the real culprit is. This comes from Among Us, the game of 2020 that gained surging popularity, amassing over a billion players last year. Originally released in 2018 as a multiplayer PC game, it did not reach the general public for two years, having been shoved aside as some banal detective game. With this past long gone, the game has now become a likely subject that YouTubers and other creators feature to arouse interest and guarantee views, proving its phenomenal popularity.

Among Us creates a unique experience for its users — a trip on an unknown spacecraft where the game takes place. As a social deception game, it can be described as being similar to the nostalgic game of Mafia, which involves hidden traitors secretly eliminating innocent members and the rest voting on who to be suspicious of and remove. To make it even more interesting, Among Us is a battle between crews in the spacecraft to find the hidden “imposters,” — the traitors — who get picked randomly at the beginning of each match.

Whether imposters win or lose generally depends on how others vote at the meeting. The imposters win the game against crew members by clouding their judgement with highly persuasive and articulated excuses and consequently, surviving. However, unlike traditional social deduction games, crew members given the roles of innocent civilians can earn a victory by finishing their assigned mission at the spacecraft.

A Novel Hub in the Virtual World

Originally developed by InnerSloth and released in 2018, Among Us shows huge success for an indie game, or independent game, which refers to games created by individuals or smaller development teams without immense financial support. Regarding an industry teeming with games backed up by giant game publishers, Among Us seems like an anomaly created by merely four developers. It is no wonder it did not gain immense popularity when it was first released, unlike its current situation.

The meteoric surge in popularity is mainly linked with the quick emergence of virtual societies that the raging coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has created. As the graveness of COVID-19 has snatched away the chance to meet friends in the real life due to social distancing regulations, a growing number of people have chosen to meet each other online. For someone wishing to meet their friends online, Among Us emerged as the best choice, as this social deception game can be played with a maximum of 10 people. Along with Discord, an advanced software enabling its users to easily talk over voice and messages, Among Us became a perfect medium to resume interactions that were lost.

Even if a game provides precious opportunities to connect, complex rules can impede access for users. Nevertheless, this is not the case with Among Us, which boasts convenience and low entry requirements as its greatest merits. The rules are all familiar, thanks to all the Mafia games played during childhood. The missions of the crew members are all composed of easy tasks, including clicking a button fast when it appears on the screen. The map of the spacecraft and the name of the cells in it are conveniently written out for the users. The game’s very title unintentionally reflects its biggest quality: it is a simple game that can be easily played “among us.”

Not a Mere Game but a New Social Phenomenon

The right platform at the perfect timing — famous YouTubers and Twitch streamers who are also considerably benefitting from the recent surge in virtual activity have contributed to Among Us’s popularity. As they posted videos of themselves playing the game with other YouTubers and Twitch streamers, it became widely known to viewers how addictive the game is. As YouTubers and streamers now tend to profoundly influence mainstream trends, Among Us rapidly stood out to general viewers, who then installed the game and introduced it to those around them, initiating an exponential growth rate.

As Among Us became the hottest topic, word got out that it is high time the world recognizes this Among Us phenomenon. Not necessarily confined to the game field, the spill-over effect sent significant resonance to all areas of culture. Celebrities and highly influential public figures joined the party on Twitch, such as American politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and American rapper Soulja Boy. The expressions that trendy YouTubers and streamers used with Among Us became social memes, subsequently consumed by the public.

For a game with such an unorthodox setting as a spacecraft and crew members, the Among Us phenomenon did not fail to persist, mainly thanks to its availability. The fact that it only costs 5500 won in Steam, a multiplayer-based gaming platform and is even free on the mobile app store captured numerous users. Apart from its cheap cost and virtually no entry barrier, autonomy continuously fuels the phenomenon. Fatigued by famous classic games including League of Legends (LOL) and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds with their solid, unbending rules and settings, it seems that users are highly attracted to the autonomous feature of Among Us that allows them to freely set the duration of each match and the number of imposters.

Just like with the error Page Not Found, which no one anticipates before it appears, no one asked for such severe blockage from the “good old days” reality in the COVID-19 era. Among Us, also having popped out of nowhere during socializing’s darkest hour, stands strong. As this Among Us phenomenon proceeds, the whole world keeps being surprised at the huge implications and resonance it continues to create. No one is certain about when this fervent trend will gradually dwindle, but even when it does, Among Us can be surely said to have left its mark in the entire cultural landscape of the pandemic.