Overview

#AmongUs exploded in July 2020 as a 2018 mobile game found pandemic success. InnerSloth’s social deduction game (Mafia in space) reached 500 million monthly players by November 2020, became 2020’s most-watched Twitch game, and defined quarantine gaming with “sus” entering common vocabulary.

The Phenomenon

Streamers like xQc, Disguised Toast, Pokimane, and AOC (congresswoman!) playing together. Emergency meetings, vent kills, faking tasks, “I saw Red vent!”, colorblind-unfriendly naming, Airship map hype, and Epic Games crossover. The game grossed $50+ million in 2020 alone.

Cultural Takeover

“Sus” (suspicious) became Gen Z slang, Jerma SUS face, Fall Guys rivalry, Among Us memes flooding every platform, Innersloth canceling Among Us 2 to improve original, and rapid content updates. The craze peaked Q4 2020, declined through 2021, but revived with VR version (2022).

Sources:

• InnerSloth blog: https://innersloth.itch.io/among-us/devlog/181107/among-us-hits-500-million-players
• Twitch stats 2020: https://blog.twitch.tv/