Among Us is one of the few games that thrived against the height of the Coronavirus pandemic. As multiple people across the world were kept inside their houses and yearned to spend time together, the indie game went from having a small player base to a global phenomenon in a matter of months. However, Innersloth has talked about how Among Us was abandoned before going viral, stating that it struggled for a bit for the first few years. Part of this was likely how difficult it can be for indie games to get consumer attention.
Marketing is a crucial component of any game's chance of success. Without it, the product can't reach its intended audience, and therefore, it won't sell and make back the money it took to make it. This is why gaming conferences are extremely important to gaming companies just as it is to the players who watch them. In the case of a live service game like Among Us, marketing is even more important as a good commercial or trailer at events like E3 can change how many concurrent players it has on any given day.
The European Space Agency at Gamescom
During Gamescom's Opening Night Live showcase, one of the presentation's quieter moments featured a message from ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti from the International Space Station. She takes the time to thank the gaming industry for all the space-oriented science fiction games that are currently in development. She gives these games the credit for forming curiosity about space in their players, which will eventually lead to more astronauts aiming to learn about what's out there beyond planet Earth.
During Samantha's message, she states "who knows? Maybe even you will be among us for the journey [to other planets,]" which may have gotten a few laughs out of viewers even incidentally. One side effect of Among Us becoming incredibly popular in such a short amount of time is that, through people talking about it, the name of the game itself has become a joke. There are many memes and videos out there that deal with people playing sound effects related to the game or snickering following the phrase "among us." Despite that, though, the next game following it wasn't related to the party game sleeper hit at all, which may be a gigantic missed opportunity for Innersloth.
Among Us's Previous Showcases
Among Us is no stranger to video game showcases by any stretch. The title has previously been part of the many world premiere announcements at The Game Awards, and it has even won the awards of Best Mobile Game and Best Multiplayer Game at the same event in 2020. While this helps prove that the game has its place at conferences, its connection to the Game Awards also helps with how Among Us would fit right in at Gamescom's Opening Night, as both events are run by the same staff. It makes the game's absence feel even bigger in hindsight.
On top of that, it wasn't as if Innersloth had nothing to show for the event either, as Among Us announced and rolled out a new update just two days after Gamescom Opening Night Live. This update featured the addition of new food cosmetic items for crewmates to wear, as well as a brand-new look for the in-game store that makes it more accessible and easy to understand. While this might not be something as huge as a new map or roles, it could have at least warranted taking over the ESA broadcast to use its own joke potential to possibly create what might have been one of the crowning moments of Gamescom.
It's not every day that an astronaut out in space decides to send a message to a gaming convention or press conference, so there's a strong chance that Innersloth has let the only opportunity to do such an incredible publicity stunt completely pass them by. The developer of Among Us is still a small indie studio, so the possibilities of it getting the funding for something of that scale for its marketing is incredibly slim.
Luckily, though, there are ways the dev could do something similar in the future, albeit perhaps at a smaller scale. While taking over the ESA broadcast would have been great, just taking over a gaming conference due to someone mentioning "among us," or maybe something about finding an "imposer" would have been funny in itself. It may not be through a real-life space astronaut, but crashing one of Geoff Keighley's many presentations with new content for Among Us might be a great stunt Innersloth should use to its advantage in the future.
Among Us is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and mobile devices.