Among Us VR could be even scarier than the original game, but thanks to VR technology, it has the potential to improve communication.

Change has been the name of the game in Among Us for a long time. Innersloth’s social deduction game has been in development since it became popular on Twitch and YouTube, and it’s made significant improvements and changes to keep fans engaged. Diverse player roles, which were previously only available through mods, are now standard in Among Us, and the Airship map, which was added this year, pushes the game’s boundaries in a variety of ways. Perhaps the most significant change to the franchise comes from Innersloth’s most recent announcement at The Game Awards 2021: its work on a virtual reality version of Among Us.

So far, not much is known about Among Us VR; Innersloth has stated that the game will only use the Skeld map at first, and that the game will have a player cap of ten, but the exact nature of tasks, emergency meetings, and Imposter sabotages is unknown. However, VR hardware could provide some insight, especially since many VR headsets include microphones. Communication has been a limiting factor in Among Us for a long time, and players have had to work around it. If every player in Among Us VR has a microphone, the game’s communication could be a huge improvement over the base game.

There is no way for players to hear each other in standard Among Us. When playing with friends, Twitch streamers and other Among Us fans have worked around the lack of audio by joining a Discord call together, but this doesn’t solve the problem for anyone who wants to play with strangers. Without a pre-made party, multiplayer requires relying on text chat during meetings and game setup in Among Us, or using the Quickchat wheel, which was introduced in early 2021. These systems are fine, but audio is far superior to text in a social deduction game like Among Us, where players are pressed for time and communication must be quick, clear, and concise.

Although the original Among Us did not rely on in-game audio, it’s possible that Among Us VR will. Because PlayStation VR, Steam VR, and the Oculus Quest 2 all have microphones built in, every Among Us VR player can use voice chat out of the box. To put it another way, Innersloth can collaborate with Schell Games and Robot Teddy to make Among Us VR default to audio communication rather than text. If audio is an important part of the game, then discussing potential Impostors and exchanging information with other Crewmates in Among Us VR will be much easier and more practical.

It’s worth noting that incorporating audio into this version of the game opens up a slew of new gameplay options. For example, proximity chat is one of the most popular Among Us mods, as it allows players to hear each other in-game but only when they’re standing close to each other.

In Among Us, proximity chat makes stealth much more difficult because players must carefully manage their audio. Among Us VR could make proximity chat the default setting and experiment with other audio-based game modifications.

Voice chat in Among Us VR would require Innersloth to consider a new set of chat safety measures, but it would be well worth the effort. If young players in Among Us VR can still use Quickchat instead of voice chat, they have a reliable tool for interacting with the game. Voice chat would help differentiate Among Us VR from the original Among Us, encouraging players to try their hand at games with people whose tactics they are unfamiliar with.

The immersive nature of VR already adds a lot to the Among Us experience, but voice chat via VR headsets could be the game’s true selling point.