Social party game Among Us rose to viral success in the midst of the pandemic. Calls to bring the game’s ‘imposter-hunting’ gameplay to VR were immediate, and unofficial VR versions of the game sprang up in no time. Now the full blown Among Us VR remake is on the verge of release, and you could get in on the action.
Update (August 5th, 2022): Among Us beta signups are now available, promising VR users that playtesting the game will begin “within a few days.”
Users are invited to give their email address, preferred VR platform, and join the game’s Discord to participate. A confirmation email should show up right away if you were selected to playtest. The original article announcing Among US VR follows below:
Original Article (December 10th, 2021): Among Us is a low-fi, top-down game about running around a spaceship with friends and trying to find out which one of you is secretly an imposter whose only goal is to kill everyone on board without being found out. During the pandemic the game skyrocketed in popularity, with nearly 400,000 concurrent players latching onto its unique social gameplay as a way to stay in touch with (and brutally betray) friends and family.
On the surface it might not look like the kind of game that’s screaming for a VR version, but if you’ve played it you’ll surely know how the social dynamic, much more than the graphics or mechanics, really makes the game shine.
And on that front, a VR version of the game could be something truly special. With social VR offering such a powerful way to feel present with other people, bringing body-language into the mix could make for a wholly unique imposter-hunting experience.
We’ll find out soon enough how Among Us mixes with VR, because Innersloth, the studio behind the game, has announced that a full-blown Among Us VR game is in development.
The VR version of the game will adopt an immersive, first-person point of view supporting four to ten players, and is said to include “all the same core mechanics” from the original, including crewmate tasks, sabotages, and emergency meetings.
Our understanding is that the VR version of the game will not be compatible with the original version, but luckily a wide range of headsets will be supported; Among Us VR will be available on Quest 2, PlayStation VR, and SteamVR. We haven’t gotten official confirmation on cross-play and support for the original Quest, though we’ve reached out for confirmation.
Innersloth tapped one of VR’s most experienced studios, Schell Games, to make Among Us VR a reality. The studio has released some six VR titles since 2016, including popular games like I Expect You to Die and Until You Fall.
No release date for Among Us VR has been announced yet, but we expect to hear more next year.