‘Squid Game’ Is Back, Official Release Date Confirmed

Squid Game, the most violent and beloved game show, is returning to Netflix—and has set its official release date.

Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun in Netflix's Squid Game Official Poster — Credit: Netflix

The world was stunned by the show Squid Game when it was released on Netflix. Though nobody quite knew the phenom it would become, the foreign language series rocketed into the highest-viewed property in the streamer’s history, holding that spot with a whopping 1.65 billion hours viewed.

Netflix measures its success by how many hours people watch a property within the first 28 days of its release. Squid Game has held the 1.65 billion record since its release in September 2021. Many great shows have been released since, like Stranger Things Season 4, which nearly took the top spot.

Right behind Squid Game, the kids of Hawkins and the Upside Down impressed again, pulling in 1.35 billion hours. Though they knocked on the door of the most-watched show in Netflix history, they couldn’t quite bridge the gap. The same can be said for the Jenna Ortega-led Wednesday series, which logged an impressive 1.24 billion hours watched. The Addams Family reboot nearly even surpassed Stranger Things.

Despite many shows attempting the glory of the top spot, Squid Game has remained squarely in the lead with 1.65 billion hours, for good reason. The series’ drama impacted everyone greatly and led many people to take in far more foreign filmmaking. Though everyone has been patiently waiting, Squid Game is officially back.

‘Squid Game’ Show Reveals Release Date and First Look

Netflix has announced that Squid Game: The Challenge will be making its grand debut on the streamer on November 22. The new reality game show is based solely on the massively popular Korean-language series and will see 456 people battling it to win a staggering $4.56 million prize. This prize is the biggest amount given in any reality show.

Despite the excitement for Squid Game returning, much like the dramatic series, this new game show has been surrounded by controversy. While filming in the UK, contestants were reportedly injured during the shooting. The filming occurred during a random cold snap, resulting in many contestants collapsing from the severe weather and exhaustion while on set.

Though it might sound a bit controversial that people were getting hurt on the show, it is based on a drama where people lose their lives for a ridiculous amount of money, so it stands to reason that this particular adaptation would not be without its steep challenges. We are not condoning anyone dying or getting severely hurt, but the above trailer showcases a game show that is highly identical to the drama series.

Though we have not yet seen every game that will be in the Squid Game reality show, we do see the iconic giant girl that plays Red Light, Green Light. There is also a quick shot of the glass floor version of Hopscotch. Though we doubt anyone will fall to their death, it looks frightening.

Netflix is betting big on Squid Game, as the reality competition series has already been renewed for a second season ahead of its premiere. We imagine that once the industry strikes allow for the dramatic series to return, we might see the second season of the competition series and the dramatic series happening simultaneously.

The drama series also has some explaining to do in terms of Netflix reportedly not paying royalties to the creator Hwang Dong-hyuk. This was even after the series brought in some $900 million profit for the streamer. We hope the sheer popularity of this new game show and the drama series will force Netflix to pay the man responsible for the greatest show in the company’s history.

What do you think about Squid Game: The Challenge? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!