Among Us Story: On Guard is Innersloth’s Answer to a Scaled-Up Team

Innersloth is expanding the Among Us universe with a new project, Among Us Story: On Guard. During a demonstration at Summer Game Fest 2026, the developer revealed that the title serves as a creative outlet for the studio’s significantly expanded workforce, which grew from a small core team to roughly 30 full-time developers following the 2020 viral success of the original Among Us.

While the initial hype for the social deduction hit has transitioned into a more stable plateau, Innersloth has maintained its larger headcount. According to lead Unity programmer Adriel Wallick, the studio has used this staffing capacity to form smaller, dedicated teams to work on new projects like On Guard. Of the 30-person team, 12 staffers were assigned specifically to the production of this new murder mystery.

A New Look for the Among Us Universe

Among Us Story: On Guard introduces a distinct visual identity compared to its predecessor. Art director Hannako Lambert opted for a paper cut-out aesthetic that aims to maintain a familiar connection to the original game while allowing for more artistic expression. Senior game designer Carol Mertz noted that the goal was to signal to players that this is the Among Us they know, yet fundamentally a different experience.

The studio is positioning this game as part of the broader Among Us canon. In fact, Mertz stated that Innersloth considers every multiplayer session of the original game to be part of that same overarching narrative.

Veteran Talent and Development

The project features a team with significant industry experience. The writing, characterized by quippy humor and numerous easter eggs, is led by Trick Weekes, a veteran writer known for their work on the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series. Other contributors include an animator from the team behind Cuphead and Mertz, who previously worked at Exploding Kittens. The project was directed by Innersloth co-founder and Among Us creator Forest Willard.

“It’s been nice, because we had to scale up quite a bit to handle Among Us at its height,” Wallick said during the demo. “Now that — not that it’s died down, but it’s not quite as intense — we’ve been able to split off and make some really nice, tight teams to work on new things.”