As Among Us continues to dominate streams and discussion of video games into the fall, it comes as no surprise to see that videos about the game have also skyrocketed on YouTube, topping 4 billion views in September. Despite being released in 2018, Among Us stayed more or less under the radar until this year, when it suddenly became one of the most popular games in the world.
While it’s surprising to see an older game gain such a huge audience out of nowhere, it makes some sense, given the current state of the world. At a time when many people worldwide are still isolating due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a game like Among Us that’s based almost entirely around social interaction has a lot going for it - even if that social interaction revolves largely around accusing other players of murder. Players have come up with intricate strategies to get away with murder or see through others’ lies, making Among Us much more of a mind game than some of this year’s other big hits, like Fall Guys.
Now, figures released by YouTube Gaming show that fans are just as eager to watch content based around Among Us as they are to actually play the game. In a blog post today, YouTube Gaming revealed that Among Us videos got 4 billion views in September, and that number accounts for more than just gameplay videos. Songs and memes based on the game have gotten a lot of views, and Among Us videos with “animation” in the title made up six percent of views. The United States had the largest number of Among Us viewers, at 18.7 percent of the total, but South Korean content creators were some of the first to realize the game’s potential, posting videos about it going back to July.
YouTube Gaming also points out that creators from the biggest on the platform to the smallest are making videos about Among Us, with some of the most popular creators actually being relatively small channels. This ability for Among Us to reach across the gaming audience, from the most hardcore players to the most casual, likely also explains some of its success. That widespread popularity led developer Innersloth to make the surprising decision to cancel Among Us 2 in order to more quickly add new features to the original game, hopefully keeping its audience engaged for a long time to come.
Anyone who’s been paying attention to streaming and conversations about gaming this year likely already knew about the runaway success of Among Us. Seeing how popular its become on YouTube in sheer numbers is another matter, though. With 4 billion views in September alone, Among Us has reached full-on phenomenon status, taking attention away from even the biggest games in the world. Not bad for a game that’s stayed mostly quiet for two years.
Among Us is available on PC.
Source: YouTube Gaming