As one of the largest gaming sensations of 2020, Among Us has become more popular than any other gaming title of this year, including immensely anticipated games like The Last of Us Part II. Among Us now seems to be something of a household name when it comes to the gaming world, and thousands - if not millions - of streamers, content creators, and regular gamers have latched on as an endless source of fun and creativity.
Among Us sat in some kind of popularity purgatory for much of its early life, having a negligible (but incrementally growing) player base between its release in 2018 and the summer of 2020. But, as the developers at InnerSloth continued to sink an inordinate amount of time and effort into improving a seemingly unpopular game, 2020 became the year of Among Us, eclipsing games such as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. The timing of Among Us' meteoric rise is also no coincidence, as fun party games like Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout and Jackbox also did immeasurable work in terms of bringing connection and light-hearted enjoyment to millions of gamers otherwise isolated by the current COVID-19 pandemic. What's more, Among Us has brought about a massive amount of fan-generated content, including animations, drawings, mods, and videos.
According to the Google Trends Year in Search 2020, Among Us is the most searched video game on Google, the most widely used search engine in the world. This places Among Us ahead of (in descending order) Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, Valorant, Genshin Impact, The Last of Us Part II, Ghost of Tsushima, FIFA 21, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Dragon Quest Walk. While Google Trends does not definitively state that Among Us had the most number of concurrent players or hours played as any game in 2020, it's not a huge stretch to come to the conclusion that the amount of searches - coupled with the game's absolutely inescapable presence during this past summer - can equal such unmatched level of prevalence.
The place of Among Us in terms of maximum popularity has no doubt come and gone, given that it's popularity peaked between September 27th and October 3rd of this year, but the impact it has made is undeniable. Games like The Last of Us 2 enthralled a huge amount of people with its high level of design, the massive anticipation, and the controversy following its release. Fall Guys inspired much of the same outpouring of creativity that Among Us did. However, neither of the two were able to generate the same following as Among Us.
It's not clear what will replace Among Us, though it's certain that something will come along that may become the next big thing in gaming. However, as 2020 nears its end, among all the craziness, the self-isolation, or the political turmoil, many will also remember that satisfying feeling of successfully accusing and spacing an innocent crewmate.
Source: Google Trends