Among Us: Developer updates about 12-15 player games

Izaak
(Image Credit: Innersloth)
(Image Credit: Innersloth)

Among Us currently limits groups to a maximum of 10 players, although mods can allow over 100. When asked when Among Us will be able to support 12-15 players, Marcus Bromander, the game’s lead artist, said that the feature was planned but that they would take things “one step at a time.”

How player count affects Among Us

Player count in Among Us is one of those things most players probably don’t think about too much. If you have a dedicated playgroup, you probably just play with as many people as are online, whereas if you play in public games you likely just let the lobby fill up. However, player counts have some significant effects on both the pacing and strategies available in any given game of Among Us.

The simple ratio of imposters to crewmates can have a significant impact on how a game can play out. Consider even the difference between an eight and nine player game of Among Us. With two imposters and six crewmates, imposters begin the game only two double-kills away from victory, while with nine players they need two double-kills and one additional kill. This extends the minimum time available to the crew by the length of one kill cooldown.

Having 15 players in a game would allow Among Us lobbies to easily go up to three imposters, something that doesn’t really work out with just 10 players.

When can we expect Among Us to support larger lobbies?

While Innersloth has announced their intent to support larger lobbies, it may take some time before the game can do so without mods. This is because Innersloth wants to make sure each player in Among Us is represented by their own color, and at the moment there are not enough colors in the game.

Furthermore, the process of adding additional player colors requires the artists for Among Us to recolor every possible animation in the game, including tasks, kills, deaths, venting, walking, and anything else. Additionally, each new color added needs to stand apart enough from the other colors to avoid being a source of confusion.

There are a lot more considerations that go into developing Among Us that players simply will never know about. Until the developers can get around to it, Among Us has sparked a sizable modding community that may be able to pick up the slack for those of you who don’t want to wait.