What is Among Us? The multiplayer social deduction game taking Twitch by storm - and how to download and play it

The fiendishly fun online game sets players on a kind of murder mystery adventure, and it can be played free on mobile, as well as on PC.

Despite launching in 2018 with limited success, Among Us is now fast-becoming one of the most popular video games around, climbing the charts on PC gaming platform Steam as well as the IOS and Apple app stores.

In late September, the game’s developers revealed that at its peak there were a total of 3.8million people playing the game all at the same time, across PC and mobile platforms.

High profile US politician Alexandria Ocasio Cortez recently set up a channel on the popular video-game streaming site, Twitch, to play Among Us, in order to “get out the vote” for the upcoming presidential election, and her first stream was one of the most watched of all time.

What is the game about?

In the game, players move around in a series of rooms inside a spaceship, either trying to complete tasks along with other players, or playing as the ‘imposter’ and trying to kill the other players without getting caught.

There can be up to 10 players in each game, with one secretly designated as the imposter at the beginning.

As most of the players move around the ship fixing things and completing small tasks, the imposter will try to disrupt them and look for opportunities to kill other players without being seen.

The main component of the game comes into play when a player discovers a body, or otherwise decides to call a meeting, which gives all the players a limited time to discuss who they think the imposter is, before voting for them to be thrown off the spaceship.

The game is in some ways a virtual equivalent to Winking Murder.

Is it safe for kids?

Though it is an online game which involves a lot of deception and murder, it’s actually considered to be very family friendly, due to its simplicity and cartoonish design.

The fact the game is very simple and can easily be played online with friends on their phones, means it is an easy game to play as a family, or in a group of friends.

The game has an official rating of E, meaning it is suitable for gamers aged 10 and up.

How do I download it?

The game is free to play on mobile, and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.

For people who want to play Among Us on the PC, the game can be downloaded through Steam, currently for £3.99.

Is it available on consoles, like Nintendo Switch?

There are no reports yet of an agreement between the game’s developers and any console makers to bring Among Us to console, although many are expecting this to happen at some point due to the game’s popularity.