The Seattle-area team behind the hit social deduction game Among Us has released a line of inflatable Crewmate costumes playing off the appeal of the game. But the colorful, puffy costumers sold out this week quicker than anyone could say, “What are you going to be for Halloween?”
The polyester costumes, made through a collaboration with the London-based toy company Toikido, come in four colors and they self-inflate using an included battery-operated fan. If you want to carry a candy bag or adult beverage, there are zip-up arm holes in the sides.
The costumes are priced at $49.99 for one-size-fits-all adults, and $39.99 for kids. The adult sizing does stop at 5 feet, 9 inches, so taller Crewmates should be ready for their ankles or more to show at the bottom.
The adult costume also has a reflective PVC mock faceplate that anonymizes the wearer, while the kids’ costume has a fabric mesh instead.
According to the official Among Us Twitter account, the costumes were available for online sale on Amazon, Walmart, and Party City, all of which sold out of their current stock in about 30 minutes. A resupply is reportedly in the works, and ideally will be available before Halloween.
roll up into the finest establishments with our new Among Us costumes ????✨ @toikido1
u can grab these on Amazon, Walmart, HMV, and other retailers globally! BE!! THE SPACEBEAN!!! pic.twitter.com/9LVvKBzvwM
— Among Us ???? cursed fridays (@AmongUsGame) September 15, 2021
Emergency meeting @AmongUsGame pic.twitter.com/R8VUf0ZjxN
— Toikido (@toikido1) September 9, 2021
Initially released in 2018 by the independent studio Innersloth in Redmond, Wash., Among Us is a social deduction game for up to 15 players. Most of the group consists of space-suited Crewmates, who must perform various tasks to keep their environment habitable, but at least one is secretly an alien Impostor who’s out to kill everyone else.
The Crewmates win if they can figure out who the Impostor is and vote to throw them out; the Impostors win by killing everyone else or running out the game’s clock.
Among Us was an obscure mobile game until the summer of 2020, when a couple of high-profile streamers picked it up. It promptly went viral, and over the next few months, everyone from talk show hosts to American politicians were playing Among Us for audiences online. The hype resulted in Among Us winning Best Mobile Game and Best Multiplayer at the 2020 Game Awards despite not actually having been released in 2020.
While Among Us has lost some momentum since last year, it’s still got a consistent fanbase. As of Friday morning, just under 10,000 people were playing Among Us on Steam, with almost as many viewers of streams related to the game on Twitch. A PlayStation 4 & 5 port of the game, announced earlier this year, still has no firm release date as of this writing.
In the wake of Among Us‘ success, Innersloth has expanded from three full-time employees to 11. Its roadmap for continued development on Among Us includes a fifth playable map, new roles for Crewmates to play such as a “Sheriff,” and a “Hide & Seek” mode.
Innersloth also teamed up with Seattle-based Dual Wield Studio late last year to premiere a line of Among Us-themed merchandise, which included shirts, blankets, hats, and notebooks. A summer collection premiered in June that added water bottles, headscarves, and pool totes to Innersloth’s online store.
It’s an interesting commentary on Among Us‘ overall appeal. While the game itself isn’t being played as much right now, the rate at which the inflatable costumes sold out is suggestive that Among Us still has a significant fanbase, as well as more cultural impact than people may be giving it credit for.
