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The meteoric rise of Among Us continues, as the mobile versions surpasses 200 million downloads.
Just a few months ago, Among Us went from being a relatively obscure social deduction game to being one of the most well known and played games of 2020. The continued growth of Among Us shows that this game won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
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Among Us is here to stay
After reaching yet another milestone, Among Us shows how sometimes, the line between obscurity and renown is razor thin. Earlier this year, Among Us languished in relative obscurity, as its player count floundered under 1,000 players. Since its rediscovery by the world at large however, Among Us has rocketed to the top and achieved so much along the way.
With over 200 million downloads for just the mobile version of the game, Among Us has done what few games ever get to do, in that it has become a part of the cultural zeitgeist. With players all around the world unable to leave their homes for fear of prolonging this pandemic, anyone not living in New Zealand has been desperate for something to help pass the hours away.
Among Us is the perfect game for these kinds of times, with its emphasis on communication and sociability helping taking the edge off of the prolonged isolation. Additionally, being free on Android and iOS means that anyone with a smartphone has the ability to play the game without any need for worry.
Those without a smartphone can still buy the game from Steam. If the low price of Among Us is a barrier, then players can always download an emulator like Bluestacks to play for free.
Regardless of how you play, Among Us has achieved a level of cultural saturation and familiarity that is often unheard of for these kind of indie games. Perhaps the closest parallel to something so small becoming this well known belong to the film industry, where micro-budget films like the Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity were able to achieve cult status.
Among Us may be the first true example of an independent micro-budget game achieving the same kind of success, probably since Flappy Bird all those years ago.
More downloads but fewer players?
One concern about Among Us at the moment is that the game’s average player count has been steadily waning over the past month. However, this process is entirely normal, and acted more like a normalization of the game’s player count. Those who merely wanted to try the game are moving on, while those who stick around are the only ones still being counted.
Additionally, Among Us isn’t the kind of game that everyone plays every day. Rather, many playgroups prefer to load up the game once in a while, whether that is just once a week or even less. Among Us makes for a perfect party game in a time where what counts as a “party” has to be stretched a bit.
Regardless, Among Us will almost certainly stick around, at least for the foreseeable future.
