It all begins in the gift shop. “Squid Game: The Experience,” an immersive entertainment installation that launched in October at a former shopping mall near Madison Square Garden, gradually pulls participants into the eerie, dystopian world of the South Korean drama series that became a massive Netflix hit in 2021.
The experience starts in a room designed to resemble a night market, filled with familiar symbols from the show as well as elements of South Korean pop culture. This includes a ramen vending machine and a bar featuring the “Squid Game”-branded Johnnie Walker whisky collaboration.
Participants, who have paid $29 to $45 for entry, are given a green gel wristband, have their photo taken, and are assigned a player number, just like in the series. When their time slot arrives, groups of 24 players move on to the next room—and that’s when things get intense.
Josh Simon, Netflix’s VP of consumer products and live experiences, reflects, “You watch the show, and you can’t help but start to wonder—how would I react if I were put in one of these situations?”
He explains that the games in the series, as well as in the unscripted show, are based on simple, well-known childhood games, so the rules are straightforward. The real challenge, however, is the pressure of the environment.
“Squid Game: The Experience” is just one element in a complex strategy of merchandise, contests, promotions, and PR stunts that Netflix has rolled out in preparation for the launch of Squid Game Season 2, set for release on December 26.
Among these promotions is the largest-ever game of Red Light, Green Light in front of the Les Champs-Elysées in Paris on December 1, the Season 2 world premiere in Seoul on December 9, and a 4.56K race to win a seat at the U.S. premiere on December 12 in Los Angeles.
The stakes are incredibly high. The South Korean-produced series took the world by storm in 2021, becoming a global phenomenon for Netflix. However, it took three years to complete Season 2, a long wait in a competitive landscape filled with high-end shows vying for viewers’ attention.
As a result, Netflix has gone all-in on distinctive and eye-catching promotions that fit the show’s theme, which centers on the desperate, debt-ridden participants in a deadly competition for a life-changing cash prize.
In addition to the New York installation, similar “Squid Game: The Experience” events are being held in Madrid and Sydney, with Seoul preparing its own installation for next year.
Following the success of the first season, Netflix approached series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk to create a second season. While waiting for Hwang to complete the scripts, Netflix launched Squid Game: The Challenge, a 2023 competition series.
While this didn’t generate the same level of excitement as the original, Netflix also released the free-to-play mobile game Squid Game: Unleashed on December 17, marking a departure from its usual approach of restricting its gaming content to paying subscribers.
There’s also a VR experience, Squid Game Virtuals, and a wide range of consumer products and brand partnerships.
These collaborations include everything from a large Mattel doll based on the show’s iconic mechanical girl, Young-Hee, in her orange jumper and yellow Peter Pan collar, to extravagant Christmas sweaters featuring “Squid Game” imagery.
Partnerships span a variety of brands, including Dominos, Xbox, Duolingo, Puma, Dos Equis XX, Carl’s Jr., and Olive Young.
Young-Hee, the giant character, is one of the first things participants encounter when their number is called.
As players make their way through challenges such as the Red Light, Green Light game, guided by Young-Hee, and the Glass Bridge walk, one lucky player might reach the final round and emerge as the last person standing, just like Seong Gi-hun (played by Lee Jung-jae) in the series.
Like the show, “Squid Game: The Experience” is not for the faint-hearted. Hwang himself is taken aback by the global impact of Squid Game.
“I had no intention of doing a second season because the overall process of writing, producing, and directing the series was so challenging. I didn’t think to do another one,” says Hwang, who famously lost eight or nine teeth due to stress while working on Season 1.
However, the monumental success of the first season gave him the courage and motivation to move forward with a second season, which has now expanded into a third.
As of early November, Squid Game Season 1 had amassed 330 million viewers and over 2.8 billion hours viewed since its release on September 17, 2021.
Netflix now boasts that the show is its most anticipated release of the year, despite the Season 2 debut coming just days before the year’s end. Season 1 also won six Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Lee Jung-jae.
Minyoung Kim, Netflix’s head of content for the Asia Pacific region, remembers the early days of Squid Game’s rise to global popularity. She recalls how executives initially thought there was “a bug in our system” when the show’s engagement numbers soared. “It was surreal,” Kim admits.
“We had always expected Squid Game to be one of the biggest shows in Korea and in Asia. It took about 10 days for it to start exploding elsewhere. And then we realized, ‘Oh, this is the biggest show in the world.’”
Despite its status as a sleeper hit, Squid Game was quickly recognized by Netflix leaders in the U.S. as a potential phenomenon. Josh Simon recalls spotting unauthorized Squid Game merchandise at a mall in Glendale, California, just weeks after the show’s release.
“We had opened a Stranger Things retail store in Glendale, and across from our store, there was a mall kiosk selling plush collectibles. I saw rows of Squid Game plush characters that weren’t made by us,” Simon says. “The show had just come out, and we hadn’t started creating them yet.”
This time around, Netflix was determined to take the lead in bringing Squid Game fans’ dreams to life, says Simon. With the company now focusing on in-person activations and events—such as permanent entertainment venues in Dallas and King of Prussia, Pennsylvania—one of Simon’s top priorities for Season 2 was ensuring that Squid Game: The Experience was a reality.
Lee Jung-jae, who plays Seong Gi-hun, teases that the ending of Squid Game will be full of unexpected twists. “The ending is something you really cannot expect,” he says. “I am looking forward to seeing what kind of interpretations viewers will have.”
As Netflix gears up for the Season 3 release, the company is preparing its campaign across various divisions. Scripts for Season 3 were shared early with the team behind Squid Game: Unleashed, allowing them to update the game in preparation for both the Season 2 and Season 3 launches.
Amidst all the excitement, there’s an immense amount of pressure on Hwang to meet the high expectations for Season 2.
Kim acknowledges the weight on his shoulders but assures that Netflix has done everything to ensure he didn’t face the same stresses that plagued the production of the first season. “We made sure he didn’t lose any teeth,” she says, with a smile.
Once postproduction on Season 3 is complete, Hwang is looking forward to taking a much-needed break. After years of pouring his heart into Squid Game, Hwang candidly admits, “I’m so exhausted. I’m so tired. In a way, I have to say, I’m so sick of ‘Squid Game.’”
He adds, “I’m not thinking about my next project right now. I’m just thinking about going to some remote island and having my own free time without any phone calls from Netflix.” He quickly clarifies, “Not the ‘Squid Game’ island.”
