Among Us! is one of our 2021 Trend of the Year winners because... the hugely popular social whodunit expanded its community to be richer and tighter-knit than ever.
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‣ Number of tasks completed since launch: 72.2 billion
‣ Number of games ended by the Impostor being voted out: 23.3 billion
‣ Number of unicorn hats added this year: 1
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In a year when social circles had to stay pretty tight, Among Us! managed to bring together players of all ages for easy-enough-for-everyone fun—whether you were the good guys trying to repair your spaceship or the ruthless murderer(s) trying to sabotage it.
Figuring out who’s an Impostor and who's not—or lying through your teeth about it—is the essence of the game. The more you play, the better you get to know even those you thought you knew well. Who would have guessed your favorite aunt, trusted colleague, or unassuming classmate could lie so convincingly?
This year, Among Us! became a way to strengthen real-life communities too. “The best part has been all the charity games people put on,” says Victoria Tran, community director at Among Us! developer Innersloth. Talk show host Jimmy Fallon and members of the Roots went head-to-head with stars from Stranger Things in a live Twitch stream to raise funds for Feeding America. Organizations like the Los Angeles Downtown Women’s Center, LGBTQ+ support group the Trevor Project, and Extra Life (a program of the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals) hosted benefit streams of their own.
Read more about the winners
Meanwhile, Innersloth kept the Among Us! world growing with a long-awaited update, adding the Airship, the game’s biggest map so far. It brought new areas to explore and perform tasks in—like the majestic cockpit and ambush-ready electrical room—and for the first time, players needed ladders to go between floors. The Airship’s arrival felt like an epic event, and player interest peaked.
Charity events allowed people to talk about a good cause while having fun.
—Victoria Tran, Among Us! community director
“As a small indie team, we aren’t able to update as often as we’d like,” says Tran. “The fact that our community is so psyched when we do means a lot.”
More recently, the team also upped the maximum number of players per round, from 10 to 15. Turns out letting more people work together to save the ship (or destroy it!) heightens the hijinks considerably.
Which was by design, says Tran. “Bringing people together and giving them a fun place to be is always the goal.”
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2021 App Store Award Winners
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League of Legends: Wild Rift
Competitive 5v5 MOBA Action
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Toca Boca World
Create, design, decorate!
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LumaFusion
Pro video editing and effects
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Myst
Adventure
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Craft: Write docs, AI editing
Journal ideas, meeting notes
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Space Marshals 3
Sci-Fi Western Adventure
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DAZN: Stream Live Sports
Boxing, MMA, Football & More
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CARROT Weather: Alerts & Radar
Local Forecasts & Live Maps
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Apple Arcade
FANTASIAN
A Diorama Adventure RPG
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Among Us!
Action
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Canva: Design, Art & AI Editor
Photo, Video & Collage Maker
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Peanut App: Find Mom Friends
Pregnancy Baby Motherhood
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EatOkra
Find Local, Black-owned Eats!
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Bumble Dating App: Meet & Date
Find new people & chat singles