In a first, Netflix is making the upcoming video game derived from Squid Game available to anyone, whether or not they are a subscriber.
Squid Game: Unleashed will be in front of the pay wall for a limited time, the company announced at The Game Awards in Los Angeles. The “party royale” game will be released next Tuesday.
Netflix is a few years into its push into video games, which it currently offers as a free mobile component of subscriptions. After bankrolling some more ambitious swings, the company has aimed more at the casual gaming segment, tying many of its releases to popular series and films. It doesn’t get more popular than Squid Game, whose second season will debut Dec. 26 after a history-making debut in 2021.
“Squid Game is Netflix’s most watched series ever, and we want everyone around the world to be able to take part in its return by making Unleashed available to everyone, which is a first for Netflix Games,” said Alain Tascan, President, Games at Netflix. “Squid Game: Unleashed is all about playing with (or against) your friends in the iconic games from the series like Glass Bridge and Red Light Green Light, so we’re inviting everyone into the chaos this holiday season.”
Netflix promises gamers “fast, heart-pounding action and brutal competition” in the multiplayer Squid Game title. “With deadly challenges pulled from the series and more new games inspired by classic childhood activities, each round is a dark trip down memory lane,” the official logline proclaims. “Can you make it through playtime alive?”
Also at The Game Awards, Netflix touted Steel Paws, which will be a Netflix exclusive title in 2025. It comes from Yu Suzuki, a noted Japanese game developer best known for creating influential video game franchises like Shenmue, Virtua Fighter, and Out Run, and for his work at SEGA.
