Every once in a while, a game is created and becomes loved by a nation. Sometimes it is an overnight sensation, while other times, it may be years before it reaches its full potential. On June 15th of 2018, a gaming company called InnerSloth made a game that was interesting but never took off. In the year 2020, however, it became a hit played by millions of people. If it isn’t clear what the game is yet, the subject of all this attention is none other than “Among Us.”

So what is the game all about? “Among Us” is a social deduction game where people are either assigned the role of crewmate or imposter. The crewmates are all given tasks to perform in different locations on the map. The imposter on the other hand is trying to kill the crewmates before they can finish all their tasks. If a crewmate finds a dead body, they report it, when kicks off a meeting to discuss who the imposter may be. With this game, the debate can go on for a while, or it can be over in the blink of an eye. It all depends on the experience of the people playing the game.

As mentioned above, even though it was first released in 2018, it wasn’t until 2020 that “Among Us” saw a growth in popularity. It has spread all over the globe in the past few months and become a common way of spending time together while socially distant. The creators have stated that Mexico, Brazil, and South Korea are even more popular locations for the game than the United States. The Twitch streamer Sodapoppin is credited with making the game popular in July 2020. Following this, many other Twitch streamers and YouTubers began playing “Among Us.” The COVID-19 pandemic has also been a major factor in the popularity of the game. Many people have to, or are choosing to, quarantine away from other people. This leaves an empty space for socializing in some people’s lives. “Among Us” is a great solution because it allows for socialization despite social distancing.

To get an idea of just how many people are jumping on board with the game, PlayTracker.Net  has been keeping a list of different statistics for the game on different platforms. On Youtube, for instance, videos about “Among Us” were viewed 4 billion times in September 2020. Relatedly, TikTok videos featuring “Among Us” had over 13 billion views in October 2020. Finally, “in September 2020, the game exceeded 100 million downloads,” they report. “Its player count rose to 1.5 million concurrent players and then jumped to 6.9 million in late September.”

So for all the people getting bored with their old boring games, “Among Us” seems to be the solution. It continues to spark interest in people everywhere and even has its own line of merchandise now. Will it continue into the future? How long will it last? Only time will tell but for now, always vote Cyan for imposter.