Imposters and Crewmates will take to the skies in the first new Among Us map since the game became a runaway success in late 2020: The Airship. After a couple of teases, developer InnerSloth unveiled some of the new stage's unique mechanics and cosmetics during The Game Awards on December 10 and shared another update in January 2021.
As fans have eagerly been awaiting the new map's release since last year, the game has since become bigger than ever, been ported to Nintendo Switch, and is even poised for an Xbox One and Xbox Series X launch later this year. A new blog post has given renewed attention to the upcoming map, so we've rounded up what we know about it so far.
Is there an Among Us Airship map trailer?
Yes, there is! A trailer featuring the map was shown off during The Game Awards 2020. It showcases many of the new map areas, its new tasks, and new features like choosing which room you want to start in. Watch the full trailer below:
When is the Among Us airship map release date?
InnerSloth has yet to confirm a precise release date for the new map just yet, but the trailer does outright say "early 2021," so it's likely that it will be released by the end of March 2021. While Among Us players have had to wait for a long time for any significant update, Innersloth explained why progress has been slow in a January 19 blog post.
"Among Us gained incredible traction pretty late into 2020 that we weren’t expecting, and that meant A LOT of change for us," it explains. "Not to dive into too much organizational stuff, but not only did we need to switch back to working on Among Us after thinking it was done, but we also needed to set ourselves up to more sustainably to work on the game."
Porting the game to other systems and getting updates certified on those platforms also takes a lot more time and work with Innersloth's partners. "It’s all behind the scenes work, and while it meant time away from the game, it’ll make it easier for current and future us to develop the game better," Innersloth promises.
They reiterated this in February 2021, tweeting, "we know you're excited for the update and we're *DYING* to get it to you, but there's lots planned and we don't want to compromise on quality for speed. Thanks for learning and growing with us!!! It's still so weird this is real lol."
What are the Among Us Airship map's new features and layout?
The new location will be the fourth playable stage in the indie title, joining The Skeld, Polus, and Mira HQ. Each map has unique characteristics and tasks, but The Airship will be a major leap compared to Among Us's previous map options. These were all reaffirmed in the January 2021 blog post.
The aforementioned ability to choose where you want to start instead of everyone starting together should change some tried and true Among Us strategies. There will also be a new set of tasks that Crewmates need to get familiar with if they don't want to get stabbed in the back while they're fumbling to complete their chores.
These will include polishing a giant gemstone, wiggling a bag of trash out of a bin, and a handful more. The map is also littered with ladders and shortcuts, like floating platforms that slowly transport players across the map. It will definitely be the most dynamic map in the game.
There will also be several new kill animations and cosmetics to match The Airship's theme. Unlike previous maps, The Airship is themed after a Henry Stickmin, a series of interactive animated shorts created by InnerSloth dev Marcus Bromande, which should be a nostalgic hat tip to anyone who played through the series on animation sharing site Newgrounds.
What Among Us 2021 updates have been announced?
Avid Among Us fans are also wondering what other updates InnerSloth is planning for 2021. The indie developer plans to release a roadmap soon so players will have a clear idea of what to expect from Among Us and when to expect it. Meanwhile, we also have the Airship map launching soon and the Xbox One and Xbox Series X ports coming sometime this year.
On top of that, InnerSloth plans to add an Account system to the game soon: "We wanted to launch this earlier, and we're close, but we want to make sure it isn’t half-baked before implementing," the aforementioned blog post explains. "The first update for this is primarily focused on moderation ... and we’re hoping to get this out ASAP."
"This is a small step towards ensuring everyone playing the game has a safe and welcoming experience! Don’t worry, we’ve heard all your requests for things like a friend system, saved stats, and so on, but for now, this will be the first thing available." While InnerSloth has been slow to start updating Among Us, the small team will release many exciting updates in 2021.
The Airship will be added to Among Us in early 2021.
