Unexpected success can paradoxically lead to missed opportunities. Case in point: perhaps because the recent surprise hit "Werewolf Among Us" was not localized in China, a copycat has hit the Chinese domestic market. According to the South China Morning Post, "Werewolf Among Us," produced by Shenzhen Yuliang Technology, topped the Apple App Store in China this month. [Cloning of popular games is inevitable; as SCMP points out, copyright laws in the U.S., China, and elsewhere do not protect game rules, so no company can claim ownership of a game of poker, flag-catching, or color-coded people being stalked by an imposter. Werewolf Among Us" itself is derived from the popular party games "Mafia" and "Werewolf," the latter based on the medieval monster theme of "Werewolf Among Us."

However, "Among Us" rip-offs such as "Killer Among Us 3D" do not seem to pose much of a threat to the original "Among Us," which has already established itself among players who speak the corresponding language. The original "Werewolf Among Us" game was not localized into Chinese. The huge Chinese gaming market has been waiting for a good localized "Among Us" clone, and "Werewolf Among Us" seems to have done its job.

However, "Among Us" itself is not doing badly in China: according to SCMP reporter Josh Ye, it is the 10th most downloaded game in China on both the App Store and Steam. but people are using it anyway. (Valve is developing an official version of Steam for China, which will likely operate independently of the current global version.)

However, "Among Us" could have done better in China: in April, we noted a spike in positive reviews after "Disco Elysium" was localized to China. Over the past few years, it has become clear that developers who do not include Chinese language support may miss out on many sales.

After Among Us exploded in popularity, developer Innersloth canceled its planned sequel and focused all its efforts on improving the hit title already in hand. Further translations are planned.

"Currently, the game is only translated into a few languages (and some of those translations are a bit rough)," the developer wrote in a recent update."

"We are planning to get professional translations into several languages.

Innersloth did not specify which languages, but Simplified Chinese is likely to be among them. Meanwhile, the studio is also working on an account system to eradicate cheaters, new maps, and color blindness support.