It used to be a given that popular games would get a sequel. While movies and books have to worry about whether or not their story can be followed up on, most games leave room for additional entries in a series that repackages the same core ideas but with new features and a fresh coat of paint. But while that makes sense for single-player games, it's less of a given for a popular online game, especially when the internet makes it so easy for developers to push through updates. Just ask Innersloth, the three-person development studio behind Among Us, a hidden-role sci-fi game that's recently gone viral.

Among Us has been out for two years, but it has only recently gained popularity, prompting Innersloth to reconsider what comes next. While the team had planned to work on a sequel, they have announced that they will instead incorporate new ideas into the existing gameAmong Us classic is here to stay, with a friends list as well as a new map in the pipeline for the game's future. This the right choice both for the team and for the playerbase.

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Among Us isn't a very complicated game. In it, up to ten crewmates go about their duties on a spaceship, repairing broken parts and transferring data. Two of them are The Thing-style impostors who seek to kill their compatriots without being detected. The game bears a close resemblance to Mafia or Town of Salem, and its mechanical systems are fairly straightforward. There's no intricate crafting systems or expansive world to play through; the gameplay depth comes solely as a result of the social interactions between players.

As such, it's unclear what a sequel to Among Us would bring to the table. Innersloth indicated in a blog post that its primary reason for developing a new game would be to move past the outdated codebase of the first game, which was developed years ago. But even a new codebase wouldn't guarantee that the current playerbase would transfer over to a new game, especially since Among Us is a game that a sequel wouldn't revolutionize. New maps and skins are great, but it's unclear whether players would be willing to drop $5 each to play them.

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As modern game development changes, this is an example more studios could stand to learn from. Blizzard announced Overwatch 2 at Blizzcon 2019, but the game has seen relatively little fanfare since. Overwatch 2 isn't even really a separate game; it's a way for Blizzard to charge fans another $60 for additional single-player content. A similar conversation happens yearly surrounding annual titles like NBA 2K and Madden NFLFree updates and paid DLC can add something of value to an existing game without locking the current playerbase out unless they pay full price for a newly released game that's barely different from what they already own.

Among Us represent a different school of thought when it comes to the future of gaming. Developers can choose to give back to their customers by adding features that encourage players to keep playing and spread the word to their friends, or they can fill games with microtransactions and rerelease what is essentially the same game every year. While the latter has certainly been successful (at least financially), Innersloth's approach sets a refreshing and consumer-friendly standard that others should follow.

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