If you're hoping to get an Among Us console port, you're going to be disappointed. Innersloth certainly would want to bring the game to PS4, Xbox One, and/or Nintendo Switch, but there are a number of challenges that have to be tackled first.
Among Us is one of the newest games to grow in popularity in recent weeks, driven in part by its popularity with Twitch streamers. The game operates on a simple premise: you and your crew are trying to prepare a spaceship for launch. Unfortunately, one of the crew is an imposter who is trying to sabotage your efforts.
What follows is a social deduction game filled with mystery, intrigue, and murder. The Imposter has to kill everybody on the ship while the crew tries to root out the Imposter. It's a game that's all about debate and communication... and that's exactly why it won't be coming to consoles anytime soon.
What's Holding Up the Among Us Console Port?
Previously, Innersloth had announced Among Us 2. The recent surge of popularity was one of many factors that led them to cancel Among Us 2 in favor of enhancing the original, but that comes with its own challenges.
"[The] codebase of Among Us 1 is so outdated and not built to support adding so much new content," the developers explained. "However, seeing how many people are enjoying Among Us 1 really makes us want to be able to support the game and take it to the next level. We have decided to cancel Among Us 2 and instead put all our focus into improving Among Us 1."
Now, those same coding challenges are what needs to be tackled before an Among Us console port can be released. New features would have to be added to get the game to work on consoles.
"It’s something we’re starting to talk about, but we’d have to write a system for quick comms so it’d basically be for randoms, like Rocket League," Innersloth's Forest Willard said as reported by DualShockers. "I don’t know if we’d be able to implement console voice chat or not. I know one of the first things we’d want to add is a friend’s list type of account system because it’s so hard to do anything without it."
Communication in the game is done with text chat and players have to do a lot of writing. Although PlayStation and Xbox consoles support keyboards, players might not be able to use one (or even be aware that it's possible).
That means that voice chat would be the next option, but that presents its own problems, too. Would you want to talk to other random people online? Many might not. The lack of a friends system (currently in development) is another challenge that holds up the social aspects of the game.
We probably will get an Among Us console port at some point, but it looks like it will be some time before we get it. For now, you can get into the latest multiplayer craze by buying Among Us on Steam for just $4.99 or your regional equivalent.
Would you want to play Among Us on consoles? Would a voice chat requirement prevent you from playing the game? Let us know in the comments below!
