<s>
Slither.io	B-Application
is	O
a	O
multiplayer	B-Application
online	I-Application
video	O
game	O
available	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
and	O
web	B-Protocol
browsers	I-Protocol
,	O
developed	O
by	O
Steve	O
Howse	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
control	O
an	O
avatar	O
resembling	O
a	O
snake	B-Application
,	O
which	O
consumes	O
multi-colored	O
pellets	O
,	O
both	O
from	O
other	O
players	O
and	O
ones	O
that	O
naturally	O
spawn	O
on	O
the	O
map	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
to	O
grow	O
in	O
size	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
objective	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
to	O
grow	O
the	O
longest	O
snake	B-Application
in	O
the	O
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Slither.io	B-Application
is	O
similar	O
in	O
concept	O
to	O
the	O
popular	O
2015	O
web	B-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
Agar.io	B-Application
and	O
is	O
reminiscent	O
of	O
the	O
classic	O
arcade	O
game	O
Snake	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
grew	O
in	O
popularity	O
following	O
its	O
promotion	O
among	O
several	O
prominent	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
users	O
such	O
as	O
PewDiePie	O
,	O
and	O
topped	O
the	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
soon	O
after	O
its	O
release	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Slither.ios	B-Application
browser	B-Protocol
version	O
was	O
ranked	O
by	O
Alexa	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
1,000	O
most	O
visited	O
sites	O
by	O
July	O
2016	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
iOS	B-Application
version	O
ranked	O
first	O
in	O
the	O
most	O
downloaded	O
apps	O
on	O
the	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
mobile	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
was	O
released	O
on	O
March	O
27	O
,	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
objective	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
to	O
control	O
a	O
snake	B-Application
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
slithers	O
"	O
,	O
around	O
a	O
wide	O
area	O
and	O
eat	O
pellets	O
,	O
defeating	O
and	O
consuming	O
other	O
players	O
to	O
gain	O
mass	O
to	O
grow	O
the	O
largest	O
and	O
longest	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
snake	B-Application
's	O
head	O
collides	O
another	O
slither	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
will	O
die	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Normal	O
pellets	O
do	O
not	O
give	O
as	O
much	O
mass	O
as	O
pellets	O
dropped	O
from	O
other	O
snakes	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Chase	O
"	O
pellets	O
will	O
appear	O
individually	O
in	O
various	O
places	O
of	O
the	O
world	O
;	O
when	O
eaten	O
,	O
they	O
give	O
a	O
greater	O
amount	O
of	O
mass	O
than	O
pellets	O
dropped	O
by	O
other	O
snakes	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chase	O
pellets	O
avoid	O
snakes	B-Application
and	O
flee	O
when	O
they	O
draw	O
near	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
button	O
is	O
released	O
,	O
or	O
the	O
finger	O
on	O
the	O
touchscreen	O
on	O
mobile	O
,	O
the	O
snake	B-Application
will	O
stop	O
using	O
its	O
boost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
player	O
uses	O
their	O
boost	O
,	O
the	O
snake	B-Application
loses	O
mass	O
,	O
causing	O
the	O
snake	B-Application
's	O
size	O
to	O
shrink	O
slightly	O
as	O
the	O
player	O
continues	O
to	O
boost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
a	O
snake	B-Application
hits	O
the	O
border	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
automatically	O
dies	O
without	O
turning	O
into	O
pellets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
each	O
server	O
,	O
leaderboards	O
are	O
displayed	O
at	O
the	O
top	O
right	O
,	O
showing	O
the	O
top	O
ten	O
players	O
with	O
snakes	B-Application
that	O
have	O
the	O
most	O
mass	O
out	O
of	O
all	O
the	O
other	O
slithers	O
in	O
the	O
entire	O
server	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
can	O
choose	O
to	O
customize	O
their	O
snake	B-Application
's	O
appearances	O
using	O
custom	O
skins	O
with	O
unique	O
designs	O
including	O
different	O
countries	O
 '	O
flags	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
skins	O
with	O
motifs	O
and	O
colors	O
representing	O
well-known	O
YouTubers	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Jacksepticeye	O
,	O
Jelly	O
,	O
and	O
PewDiePie	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Previously	O
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
unlock	O
custom	O
skins	O
in	O
browser	B-Protocol
mode	O
,	O
players	O
were	O
forced	O
to	O
share	O
the	O
game	O
on	O
Twitter	B-Application
or	O
Facebook	B-Application
using	O
the	O
external	O
links	O
found	O
on	O
the	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
June	O
2016	O
,	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
add	O
skins	O
was	O
also	O
added	O
to	O
the	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android	B-Application
versions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
of	O
these	O
financial	O
issues	O
,	O
he	O
had	O
to	O
move	O
from	O
Minneapolis	O
to	O
Michigan	B-Device
,	O
where	O
he	O
realized	O
the	O
popularity	O
of	O
Agar.io	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
had	O
long	O
wanted	O
to	O
create	O
an	O
online	B-Application
multiplayer	I-Application
game	I-Application
,	O
but	O
the	O
only	O
option	O
for	O
the	O
development	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
was	O
in	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Flash	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
not	O
wanting	O
to	O
use	O
this	O
method	O
,	O
he	O
gave	O
up	O
the	O
idea	O
for	O
a	O
while	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Howse	O
finally	O
created	O
the	O
game	O
when	O
he	O
realized	O
that	O
WebSocket	B-Protocol
,	O
a	O
low-latency	O
protocol	O
supported	O
by	O
most	O
major	O
browsers	B-Protocol
,	O
was	O
sufficient	O
and	O
stable	O
enough	O
to	O
run	O
an	O
HTML	O
game	O
similar	O
to	O
other	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
Agar.io	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Howse	O
struggled	O
to	O
find	O
space	O
on	O
servers	O
with	O
enough	O
space	O
in	O
regions	O
where	O
there	O
was	O
more	O
demand	O
and	O
tried	O
to	O
avoid	O
cloud	O
services	O
like	O
Amazon	B-Application
Web	I-Application
Services	I-Application
,	O
owing	O
to	O
the	O
high	O
cost	O
that	O
these	O
services	O
would	O
incur	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
bandwidth	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
six	O
months	O
of	O
development	O
,	O
Slither.io	B-Application
was	O
released	O
for	O
browsers	B-Protocol
and	O
iOS	B-Application
on	O
March	O
25	O
,	O
2016	O
,	O
with	O
servers	O
supporting	O
up	O
to	O
500	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
days	O
after	O
the	O
iOS/browser	O
versions	O
 '	O
release	O
,	O
an	O
Android	B-Application
version	O
was	O
made	O
available	O
by	O
Lowtech	O
Studios	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
there	O
was	O
no	O
money	O
to	O
advertise	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
the	O
only	O
way	O
to	O
promote	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
the	O
various	O
let	O
's	O
plays	O
by	O
players	O
on	O
YouTube	B-General_Concept
,	O
including	O
PewDiePie	O
,	O
who	O
had	O
more	O
than	O
47million	O
subscribers	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Howse	O
said	O
that	O
two	O
major	O
gaming	O
companies	O
had	O
approached	O
him	O
to	O
buy	O
Slither.io	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Soon	O
after	O
release	O
,	O
Slither.io	B-Application
reached	O
the	O
top	O
of	O
the	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
sales	O
charts	O
in	O
the	O
free	O
software	O
category	O
in	O
several	O
regions	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
and	O
the	O
United	O
Kingdom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
2016	O
,	O
Slither.io	B-Application
had	O
become	O
Google	B-Application
's	I-Application
most	O
searched	O
video	O
game	O
of	O
the	O
year	O
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Patricia	O
Hernandez	O
of	O
Kotaku	O
said	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
low	O
barriers	O
to	O
entry	O
and	O
similarity	O
to	O
Agar.io	B-Application
explained	O
Slither.ios	B-Application
popularity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Boing	O
Boing	O
compared	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
core	O
mechanic	O
to	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
2009	O
game	O
Osmos	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Brandt	O
Ran	O
,	O
writing	O
for	O
Business	O
Insider	O
,	O
said	O
that	O
"	O
despite	O
running	O
into	O
some	O
technical	O
hiccups	O
—	O
the	O
game	O
can	O
lag	O
heavily	O
at	O
times	O
—	O
I	O
doubt	O
Slither.io	B-Application
will	O
be	O
leaving	O
my	O
home	B-Operating_System
screen	I-Operating_System
anytime	O
soon.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Harry	O
Slater	O
,	O
writing	O
for	O
Pocket	O
Gamer	O
,	O
defined	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
"	O
interesting	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
gameplay	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
compulsive	O
experience	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
structure	O
as	O
simple	O
and	O
similar	O
to	O
Agar.io,	O
although	O
it	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
a	O
large	O
replay	O
value	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lian	O
Amaris	O
of	O
Gamezebo	O
found	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
be	O
"	O
far	O
more	O
interesting	O
than	O
Agar.io	B-Application
 "	O
because	O
it	O
involved	O
"	O
an	O
ever-growing	O
languid	O
body	O
rather	O
than	O
just	O
a	O
flat	O
circle	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
praised	O
"	O
the	O
dark	O
environment	O
with	O
neon	O
worms	O
,	O
"	O
which	O
gave	O
the	O
game	O
a	O
"	O
retro	O
arcade	O
feel.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Amaris	O
also	O
compared	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
Slither.io	B-Application
to	O
that	O
of	O
Agar.io	B-Application
and	O
stated	O
that	O
Slither.io	B-Application
was	O
reminiscent	O
of	O
the	O
classic	O
arcade	O
game	O
Snake	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shortly	O
after	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
mobile	O
versions	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
in	O
first	O
place	O
in	O
the	O
ranking	O
of	O
games	O
of	O
the	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
Slither.ios	B-Application
popularity	O
,	O
it	O
received	O
mixed	O
reviews	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Scottie	O
Rowland	O
of	O
Android	B-Application
Guys	O
praised	O
the	O
gameplay	O
and	O
graphics	O
but	O
criticized	O
the	O
ads	O
that	O
pop	O
up	O
on	O
the	O
screen	O
after	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
calling	O
them	O
"	O
extremely	O
annoying	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
finding	O
the	O
payment	O
to	O
remove	O
them	O
"	O
a	O
bit	O
pricey	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
July	O
2016	O
,	O
the	O
browser	B-Protocol
version	O
website	O
was	O
ranked	O
by	O
Alexa	O
as	O
the	O
250th	O
most	O
visited	O
site	O
worldwide	O
,	O
but	O
then	O
experienced	O
a	O
decline	O
in	O
popularity	O
,	O
dropping	O
below	O
1,000	O
by	O
October	O
2016	O
before	O
remaining	O
mostly	O
constant	O
at	O
approximately	O
1,700	O
by	O
January	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
April	O
2017	O
,	O
Slither.ios	B-Application
global	O
rank	O
then	O
started	O
declining	O
further	O
,	O
reaching	O
2,800	O
by	O
September	O
2017	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
that	O
same	O
period	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
had	O
already	O
been	O
downloaded	O
more	O
than	O
68	O
million	O
times	O
in	O
mobile	O
applications	O
and	O
played	O
more	O
than	O
67million	O
times	O
in	O
browsers	B-Protocol
,	O
generating	O
a	O
daily	O
income	O
of	O
US$	O
100,000	O
for	O
Howse	O
.	O
</s>
