MA-0029 · first seen 15 June 2018
Among Us
A 2018 social deduction game that became the soundtrack, slang and shared language of the 2020 lockdowns.
- Status
- ClassicPeaked more than five years ago
- Trend score
- 33/100Estimated
- Change, 90 days
- +2%Estimated
- Peak
- 96Oct 2020
- Years active
- 6Index of 30 or more
- First seen
- 201815 June 2018
Popularity over time
Monthly attention from Jun 2018 to Oct 2026. Hover or tab through the chart for each month.
- First appearance
- Went viral
- Peak
- Decline
Attention index, 0 to 100 on one scale for the whole archive. Estimated from each meme’s key dates, not measured.
About
Innersloth released Among Us in June 2018 for mobile and later for PC. Players on a spaceship try to complete tasks while one or more hidden impostors sabotage them, and everyone argues about who is guilty. For two years it had a small audience.
In summer 2020, with much of the world indoors, streamers on Twitch discovered it, and the game exploded. Its crewmate shape, the word “sus” and the cry “emergency meeting” spread everywhere. On 20 October 2020 two members of the US Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar, streamed a game on Twitch to a huge live audience.
Origin
Released by the indie studio Innersloth on 15 June 2018 for mobile, with a PC version following.
15 June 2018
Viralization
Twitch streamers discovered it in summer 2020 and it spread rapidly through TikTok, YouTube and Reddit.
August 2020
Peak
Estimated peak in October 2020, when members of Congress streamed it on Twitch on 20 October.
Oct 2020
Timeline
From the first post to where it stands today.
Origin
A small release
Innersloth releases Among Us for mobile devices; it attracts a modest audience.
Early adoption
Streamers find it
Twitch streamers begin playing, and its social deduction format makes for great viewing.
Viral
Everyone is sus
The game explodes in popularity, along with the memes and slang it generates.
Peak
Congress plays
Two US representatives stream a game on Twitch to a vast live audience.
Decline
Saturation
The meme saturates and attention moves on.
Current
Permanent vocabulary
“Sus”, “impostor” and “emergency meeting” are part of everyday slang.
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