Last weekend, Among Us, the online multiplayer social deduction game developed by InnerSloth, reached 3.8 million concurrent players, according to the studio. The number includes Steam and mobile players. Released in 2018, the game initially received little mainstream attention, yet rose in popularity this year after well-known content creators like Sodapoppin, xQc, Lirik, CallMeCarson, Pokimane, Shroud, Ninja, and PewDiePie began streaming it on Twitch and YouTube.
Forest Willard, lead programmer at Innersloth, has also revealed that the game recently surpassed 60 million daily active users and 100 million downloads, mostly on iOS and Android. On Steam, Among Us has reached an astounding peak player count of 438,524, according to SteamCharts, putting it on par with games like CS:GO, Dota 2, and PUBG. In August, a sequel, Among Us 2, was announced, yet the planned follow-up was canceled after the team decided to focus on improving the original game.
The popularity of Among Us has also led to some controversy. When the game was played recently by the US Navy Esports team, players on the stream used the handles "Nagasaki" and "Japan 1945" in reference to the US bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. Another player used the handle "Gamer Word," which is often code for the N-word in online gaming communities.
Dennis Velez, commander at Navy Recruiting Command, told CNN that the Navy's esports team helps "make sailors and what we do more relatable to a new generation." The military, however, has been criticized for using in-game advertising, which is often targeted at underage players, to recruit new members.
Despite its association with these controversies, Among Us has continued to thrive. Last month, InnerSloth opened a merch store for the game, and the game's popularity has inspired countless internet memes and fan art, as well as crewsonas, fan art of customized characters. According to Willard fan-created content is "really is the best part" of developing Among Us, while designer Marcus Bromander, calls it "my favorite thing to see."
Source: DotEsports