First documented in September 2020 on YouTube. Archived: no longer in active use, preserved here for the historical record.
September-December 2020: Among Us (2018 indie game) exploded via YouTube/Twitch. Sodapoppin, xQc, Disguised Toast, Corpse Husband, Valkyrae, Sykkuno lobbies generated billions of views. Social deduction game perfect for pandemic isolation + streamer personalities. Corpse’s deep voice became phenomenon. By February 2021: oversaturated, playerbase collapsed. Proved game virality cycles faster than ever.
Sources: Among Us viewership data, Twitch statistics, Steam player counts
100 Thieves, founded April 2017 by former Call of Duty pro Matt "Nadeshot" Haag, became esports' most successful lifestyle brand
2048, created by Italian web developer Gabriele Cirulli in a single weekend (March 2014), became a global phenomenon with 100+ million plays in its first month
> Addictive browser puzzle game where you combine numbered tiles to reach 2048
Chinese gaming slang 666, pronounced "liu liu liu" (溜溜溜), became the universal Mandarin expression for praising skill, smooth execution, or impressive plays
"Among Us Impostor" became the defining phrase of late 2020 as InnerSloth's 2018 game exploded into mainstream consciousness
Hazelight Studios' A Way Out launched March 23, 2018 as the co-op prison break that demanded two players