Among Us 3D
Among Us 3D is a multiplayer social deduction video game that adapts the core mechanics of the original Among Us into a fully immersive three-dimensional environment, where 4-10 players assume roles as crewmates or impostors aboard a spaceship, engaging in tasks, sabotages, and emergency meetings to identify and eliminate betrayers.[1][2] Developed by Schell Games in collaboration with Innersloth, the game evolved from the earlier Among Us VR prototype, which was rebranded and expanded to unify PC and virtual reality experiences with cross-platform play.[3][4] The PC version launched on May 6, 2025, for $9.99 on Steam, following initial VR releases on Meta Quest in November 2022 and PlayStation VR2 in December 2023.[2][4] It supports platforms including Steam PC, SteamVR, Meta Quest, PlayStation VR2, and PICO, with features like native proximity voice chat, first-person controls, and controller compatibility on Steam Deck.[1][3] Gameplay emphasizes teamwork and deception, with crewmates completing objectives such as repairing systems while impostors perform kills, vent through ducts, and trigger sabotages to create chaos.[1] New additions include expanded roles, seasonal cosmetics like spooky-themed items, and modes such as Tag Mode, alongside customizable appearances with hats, gloves, and skins.[3] Unlike the original Among Us, it is not backward-compatible but offers shared updates and events across PC and VR lobbies.[1] As of November 2025, the game has received mixed user reviews on Steam, praising its immersive 3D visuals and voice integration while noting occasional technical issues.[2]Gameplay
Core mechanics
Among Us 3D is a multiplayer social deduction game where players are assigned roles as either Crewmates or Impostors in lobbies supporting 4 to 10 participants.[1][3] Crewmates must collaborate to identify and eliminate the Impostors through observation and discussion, while Impostors aim to deceive the group and disrupt operations.[1] The game's core loop revolves around completing ship repairs, surviving potential eliminations, and conducting votes during meetings.[3] An additional mode, Tag Mode, supports at least 6 players where "infected" participants tag others in a task-based race, emphasizing first-person movement.[5] Crewmates are tasked with repairing the spaceship by performing a series of objectives, such as wiring panels or pulling levers, which contribute to a collective task bar.[1] These tasks require physical interactions in the 3D environment, allowing players to navigate and manipulate objects in first-person perspective for immersion.[3] Successful completion of all tasks signals victory for the Crewmates, provided no Impostors remain.[1] Impostors, limited to one or more per lobby depending on player count, seek to sabotage the ship—such as causing oxygen depletion or reactor meltdowns—and eliminate Crewmates through direct kills or by using vents for quick traversal and evasion.[1][3] Kills occur in close-up 3D animations, emphasizing the personal nature of betrayals, while sabotages force Crewmates to prioritize repairs over tasks.[3] Impostors can also vent to access hidden areas, altering pursuit dynamics in the three-dimensional space.[3] The voting system activates during Emergency Meetings, which can be called by any player via buttons or upon discovery of a body, leading to discussions and democratic ejections of suspected players.[1] These meetings facilitate proximity-based voice chat, where players communicate in real-time based on their physical locations in the 3D ship, enhancing suspicion-building through spatial awareness.[3] Ejected players are removed from the game, potentially revealing their true role post-ejection.[1] Crewmates achieve victory by fully completing tasks or by correctly ejecting all Impostors through votes.[1] Conversely, Impostors win by reducing the Crewmate population to equal or fewer than the number of Impostors, often through a combination of kills and unresolved sabotages.[1][3] This setup adapts the original Among Us framework to 3D by integrating spatial navigation and interactive elements that heighten player interactions.[3]Visual and audio features
Among Us 3D features fully realized three-dimensional models for characters, environments, and animations, developed using the Unity engine to create an immersive first-person perspective that contrasts with the original game's top-down view.[5] Crewmates are depicted as customizable bean-like figures with options for outfits, colors, hats, gloves, and skins, purchasable via in-game currency called Stardust to enhance personalization during gameplay.[1] Expanded roles include two new additions alongside standard Crewmate and Impostor roles, with a permanent role "DUM Justice" introduced in a free update on May 29, 2025.[6] The graphical style emphasizes detailed spaceship interiors, allowing players to navigate multi-level structures with interactive elements such as corridors and engine rooms, fostering deeper spatial awareness for social deduction.[7] The primary map, The Skeld II, expands on the original design into a larger, vertically layered vessel with interconnected rooms that support dynamic movement and task interactions in three dimensions.[7] A secondary map, Polus Point, introduces varied terrain including open areas and confined passages, promoting strategic positioning in the 3D space.[7] These environments incorporate smooth animations for actions like task completion and movement, with lighting and shadows that heighten tension during impostor pursuits.[1] Audio design integrates proximity-based voice chat, where player voices fade in volume and clarity based on in-game distance, enabling natural overhearing of nearby discussions without external apps.[1] Ambient ship sounds accompany sabotages, such as blaring alarms for oxygen depletion or reactor meltdowns, while directional audio cues indicate the approach of other players through spatialized effects.[2] For non-verbal communication, quick text chat and gesture systems provide alternatives, moderated by AI tools like ToxMod for safety.[7] VR integration offers an optional first-person mode compatible with headsets like Meta Quest, SteamVR, PlayStation VR2, and PICO, featuring motion controls for precise task interactions and head-tracking to scan surroundings during emergency meetings.[7] This mode supports crossplay with non-VR PC players, blending immersive headset experiences with flatscreen controls.[1] Accessibility options include customizable volume controls, stereo sound support, and controller remapping to accommodate various input devices, ensuring broader playability across PC and VR setups.[2] Additional safety features, such as keyword moderation compliant with COPPA and GDPR, protect younger players during voice interactions.[7]Development
Announcement and early production
Among Us VR, the initial 3D adaptation of the popular social deduction game, was announced at The Game Awards 2021 by Innersloth in partnership with Schell Games and Robot Teddy.[8][9] The reveal trailer showcased a first-person VR perspective, emphasizing immersive interactions among crewmates and impostors aboard a spaceship.[10] This project stemmed from the massive success of the original 2D Among Us, which had garnered hundreds of millions of players since its 2020 surge in popularity.[11] Innersloth served as the publisher and holder of the original intellectual property, while Schell Games led the core VR and 3D development efforts, focusing on rebuilding gameplay mechanics for spatial interaction.[12] Robot Teddy contributed to animation and 3D modeling, enhancing character designs and environmental assets to suit the immersive format. Early production involved prototyping core elements like task completion and emergency meetings in a 3D space, with the team selecting the Unity engine for its robust support of cross-platform VR deployment on devices such as Meta Quest 2 and PC.[5] These prototypes prioritized VR immersion, testing hand-tracking for intuitive actions that replaced the original's point-and-click controls.[12] A public beta launched in August 2022 for Meta Quest 2 and Windows Mixed Reality headsets, allowing players to test multiplayer lobbies and provide feedback.[13] Participants reported on issues like motion sickness from smooth locomotion and the intuitiveness of VR-specific tasks, such as manipulating objects in 3D space.[14] Developers iterated based on this input to refine movement options and UI visibility.[13] Key challenges during early production centered on adapting the 2D top-down social deduction format to 3D VR, where spatial awareness could enable exploits like hidden vantage points for impostors.[15] The team balanced player visibility during accusations by adjusting field-of-view mechanics and lighting to prevent unfair advantages in close-quarters navigation, while ensuring accusations felt natural in a first-person view.[12] These adjustments aimed to preserve the game's tension without compromising VR's immersive potential.[15]Rebranding and finalization
In February 2025, developers Schell Games and publisher Innersloth announced the rebranding of Among Us VR to Among Us 3D, shifting focus from a VR-exclusive title to a hybrid experience that supports flatscreen play on PC via Steam alongside VR platforms, thereby broadening its accessibility and appeal to a wider audience beyond VR headset owners.[16][17] This change was officially implemented on April 10, 2025, updating store pages, websites, and in-game elements to reflect the new name and inclusive design.[17] During final production, the team integrated native proximity voice chat to enhance social deduction dynamics, allowing players to hear nearby crewmates and impostors for more immersive deception and accusation moments.[7] Additionally, the map The Skeld II—an expanded, 3D adaptation of the original Skeld from Among Us—was refined based on player feedback from the Steam Next Fest demo, incorporating detailed environments with tight corridors and open areas to support strategic gameplay in three dimensions.[18] Optimization efforts targeted non-VR users by introducing adjustable movement settings, such as snap turning and speed controls, to minimize motion sickness and ensure smooth navigation on flatscreens.[19] Key milestones included the Steam Next Fest demo from February 24 to March 3, 2025, which served as a testing ground for balancing impostor abilities in 3D space, such as kill ranges and vent access, to prevent exploits in the expanded verticality and visibility of the new format.[20] Final builds in Unity were rigorously tested for seamless cross-play between PC flatscreen and VR users, confirming stable 4-10 player lobbies without desync issues.[21] Schell Games handled refinements to 3D interactions, including gesture-based tasks and spatial audio cues, while Innersloth ensured narrative consistency with the original game's lore, such as maintaining the spaceship betrayal theme across platforms.[22][23] Minor delays arose from transitioning away from VR exclusivity to the hybrid model, allowing time to polish compatibility and lobby stability ahead of the May 6, 2025, launch.[24]Release
Platforms and launch dates
Among Us 3D initially launched as a virtual reality (VR) title, with early access beginning on November 10, 2022, for Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro, Oculus Rift, Rift S, and SteamVR platforms.[25][26] The game expanded to PlayStation VR2 on December 4, 2023, and to PICO headsets on December 5, 2023, maintaining its VR focus during this phase.[26] A flatscreen version for Windows PC followed, with a demo released on February 24, 2025, and the full release occurring on May 6, 2025, via Steam, following the rebranding from Among Us VR to Among Us 3D on April 10, 2025, to encompass both VR and non-VR play.[24][2][27][17]| Platform | Launch Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Meta Quest 2/Pro, Oculus Rift/Rift S, SteamVR | November 10, 2022 (Early Access) | VR-only initial release |
| PlayStation VR2 | December 4, 2023 | VR expansion |
| PICO | December 5, 2023 | VR expansion |
| Windows PC (Steam) | May 6, 2025 (Full) | Flatscreen version; demo on February 24, 2025 |