In 2020, few games managed to change the course of the gaming community in the same way as Among Us. Streamers of all sizes hopped on the social deduction game change, and as a result, some figures like Disguised Toast have vastly expanded their audiences or jump-started their burgeoning streaming careers. Streamers don't boot up Among Us quite so often anymore, even though the game's stream category retains nearly 12 million followers on Twitch, but Innersloth is still working hard to improve its surprise hit. In recent months, Among Us has received some major updates, such as the introduction of new player roles that were formerly only available through mods.
These updates haven't necessarily put Among Us back on the front page of Twitch on the daily, but they speak to Innersloth's snowballing enthusiasm for the Among Us brand. Considering a couple of products that Innersloth is working on right now, the studio seems determined to advertise and diversify Among Us in strange but compelling ways. That enthusiasm could ramp up a lot in the coming months as Innersloth does its best to make Among Us as popular as it once was. 2022 may see Among Us reclaim a significant amount of its cultural capital.
Upcoming Among Us Products
A couple of future pieces of Among Us media strongly suggest that Innersloth wants to expand the brand as much as it can. For instance, in February, Japanese magazine Bessatsu CoroCoro will publish a manga adaptation of Among Us. Lots of famous video game franchises have taken manga for a spin, ranging from The Legend of Zelda to Persona, but Among Us is a pretty surprising choice, considering how little plot is built into the game. Nevertheless, the manga adaptation speaks to Innersloth's willingness to experiment with the Among Us label and figure out new ways to keep fans thinking about its game.
It also doesn't hurt that Innersloth is working on a new version of Among Us. At The Game Awards 2021, it announced Among Us VR, which will allow players to explore the Skeld map through VR headsets and confront their fellow Crewmates in person. Among Us fans have created similar VR games already, but an official Among Us VR game definitely sounds like it could hit the front page of Twitch, should famous Among Us players get together again to experience the virtual reality version of the game. While Innersloth hasn't said when Among Us VR will release, the late December announcement means a 2022 release is plausible.
Innersloth's New Strategy
Among Us has seen plenty of major updates in 2021. Aside from new official Among Us roles, Innersloth has also added a cosmetic shop, a battle pass system, achievements, and significantly bigger lobbies. While these have kept dedicated players happy, they haven't brought Among Us Twitch streamers and YouTubers back into the game. It seems like Innersloth will have to introduce some major changes in order to convince famous Among Us streamers to return to the game and continue playing it as regularly as before.
Those kinds of attractive, drastic changes could happen in 2022, considering how experimental Innersloth is being with Among Us in the near future. Among Us VR offers an entirely new angle on the game, while the surprising manga adaptation could get some fans nostalgic enough to play it again. Among Us' major crossover with League of Legends indicates that the game still has some serious influence on the game industry, but it'll take more than that to make Among Us the sensation it once was. Hopefully, Innersloth's 2022 is defined by pushing the boundaries of Among Us, figuring out where its remaining potential lies and figuring out more surprising ways to work with the Among Us brand in order to draw players back.
Among Us is available now for Mobile, PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
