Among Us for Xbox: Release date, Xbox Game Pass, and everything you need to know

An influx of people staying home and playing video games, a bigger focus on online multiplayer, and the unintentional power of Twitch streamers to elevate games caused several smaller games to become wild successes over the last few years. One of the most prominent examples of this phenomenon is Among Us, an understated game with groups of players working together to discover the Impostors amongst them. It's been slowly coming to more platforms after only being available on mobile and PC, and it's now on Xbox and Game Pass.

Here's everything you need to know about Among Us for Xbox.

What is Among Us for Xbox?

Among Us is an online co-op multiplayer game that was actually initially released back in 2018 but never saw a ton of commercial success. It wasn't until the rise of Twitch streams and an increased number of people staying home that it exploded in popularity and dominated the internet. Among Us now enjoys millions of players and has expanded rapidly. Innersloth has scrambled to meet the sudden success, including porting the game to new platforms like Microsoft's Xbox consoles.

The premise in Among Us is fairly simple. There are a variety of maps filled with random tasks for players to complete. Most players will be Crewmates, some with special jobs or abilities, and their jobs are to complete their assigned tasks and help their fellow Crewmates survive and sniff out the Impostors. The Impostors, for their part, have to avoid discovery while killing Crewmates before all the tasks are completed. Among Us encourages cooperation and alliances between Crewmates, but invites deception and discord from the Impostors, a mix that helped it achieve the success it has.

Originally designed for mobile devices' touch controls and PCs' mouse and keyboard setups, Innersloth had its work cut out for it adapting Among Us to console platforms and controllers. Fortunately, Among Us is now on all three major console platforms with full cross-play between all players. Among Us isn't everyone's cup of tea, but those who enjoy its casual but surprisingly intense gameplay may find Among Us to be one of the best Xbox games you can play today.

When is the release date for Among Us on Xbox?

Among Us is now available for practically every gaming platform, including Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Switch, PC, and Android and iOS mobile devices. Among Us on every platform should be more-or-less identical, besides platform-specific optimizations for controls, achievements, and more.

On most platforms, Among Us costs $5 with in-game purchases and microtransactions. On Android and iOS, Among Us is free and ad-supported, with the same in-game purchases. In-game cosmetic purchases can move between platforms, but there are exceptions depending on your platform.

Xbox and PC Game Pass support

Among Us was available through PC Game Pass for months before its eventual launch on Xbox consoles, but that didn't stop the game from joining Xbox Game Pass the moment it was released. Now, subscribers can enjoy Among Us on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC through Microsoft's subscription service, with cross-play and cross-progression enabled between the platforms. Among Us is also coming to Xbox Cloud Gaming on Dec. 15, 2021. With so much going for it, Among Us is one of the best Xbox Game Pass games on the service.

What are the features and gameplay in Among Us for Xbox?

No matter where you decide to play Among Us, the core experience is consistent throughout. Updates for the title release simultaneously on all platforms, and no players miss out because of where they decide to play. That being said, fundamental differences in how various platforms play games means Among Us does differ. Among Us was originally designed with touch controls or mouse and keyboard in mind, meaning significant changes are necessary to make it work on controller.

Innersloth's first attempt at adapting Among Us to consoles was with Among Us on Nintendo Switch, which was a playable (albeit compromised) experience. Things have improved a lot since then, and Among Us should be great on both Xbox and PlayStation.

One thing to keep in mind, however, is how inputting text for the Emergency Meetings and chats is more tedious on a controller. On Xbox and PlayStation, playing with a headset and mic is recommended. Alternatively, you can also play Among Us on a local network with friends and families or use popular services like Discord to communicate with your fellow players.

As Among Us continues to evolve with new content and changes in the future, Xbox players won't be left behind. If you've played Among Us before (and are familiar with the major updates it has seen in the last year or so), you know exactly what to expect when you log onto your Xbox.

Cross-play & cross-progression

One of the biggest advantages Among Us possesses is how it doesn't matter where your friends are in the world or what platform they're playing on, you can still enjoy a game of Among Us with them. This philosophy has persisted as Among Us expanded to additional platforms, and it remains true on Xbox. Among Us supports full cross-play between all of its platforms, meaning you'll be able to play with anyone else. Because of the way Among Us is designed, no one platform gets an inherent advantage to gameplay either (with the exception of text chat being more difficult on controllers).

Cross-progression was also added to Among Us with the most recent update. You can now create an Among Us account on your most-played account, and link all other platforms to that account to carry over progress, statistics, and cosmetics. This does have some caveats, however. If you have played Among Us on multiple platforms in the past, you may lose cosmetics and progress when you link everything to a single account. Not everything may carry over between platforms after you link, as Nintendo Switch features some additional restrictions.

For the most part, Among Us lets you play where you want, when you want, without forcing you to worry about where your cosmetics are or how you're friends are playing.

Is there a Collector's Edition for Among Us on Xbox?

For a game as simple as Among Us, you wouldn't think there would be a Collector's Edition up for sale, but earlier this year, Innersloth confirmed there are multiple special, physical editions of the game available for purchase at retailers like Amazon and GameStop. They'll be released in the U.K. and EU on Dec. 14, 2021, in Japan and South Korea on Dec. 16, 2021, and in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America on Jan. 11, 2022.

Innersloth teamed up with Maximum Games to create three Among Us Collector's Editions, which are now available for preorder on Amazon. Considering Among Us is already an inexpensive game, these versions cost a lot less than typical Collector's Editions for other games.

Crewmate Edition

This is the most affordable of the three, costing $30 no matter your platform of choice. It includes:

• Physical copy of Among Us in a 3D lenticular case
• All digital DLC and additional in-game content
• A folded Skeld map poster
• An Among Us sticker set
• One of 12 Mira HQ holographic access cards
• Six downloadable wallpapers

Imposter Edition

This version is right in the middle and costs $50. It includes everything in the Crewmate Edition, with additional rewards like:

• Limited Impostor Edition box
• Among Us enamel pin
• Purple Crewmate Among Us plush
• Among Us lanyard

Ejected Edition

This is the most expensive version, coming in at $90, but it comes with a lot of merchandise. You get everything in both the Crewmate and Imposter Editions, along with:

• Physical copy with SteelBook
• Limited Ejected Edition box
• Red Among Us beanie
• Among Us fleece blanket

Among Us is now available on Xbox consoles alongside all other platforms, making it easy to play no matter where you are. You can purchase Among Us on your platform of choice, or play through Xbox Game Pass (and soon Xbox Cloud Gaming).