'Squid Game' By the Numbers: How Player 456 Took Over the World

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Squid Game By the Numbers: How Player 456 Took Over the World

From left to right: Park Sung-hoon, Kang Ae-shim, Lee Jung-jae, Hwang Dong-hyuk, Lee Byung-hun, Jo Yu-ri and Yim Si-wan attend the Squid Game Season 3 New York Premiere at The Paris Theater. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Netflix)

Entertainment

01 July 2025

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When Squid Game premiered on Netflix in 2021, it became a global phenomenon that transcended language barriers, shaped cultural conversation and broke records, quickly becoming the world's biggest TV show. The highly anticipated final season returned, only on Netflix, June 27.

Read on as we pull back the curtain on the incredible fandom and share new and updated numbers on everything from record-breaking views and viral games to fan activations and the thousands of Pink Guards who presided over them. Plus, an unforgettable global tour, spanning New York's Domino Park to Seoul's Gwanghwamun Square, taking fans inside the games one last time.

Read About the Season 3 Tour on Tudum

IGNITING A FANDOM

Squid Game has taken the world by storm, with nearly 600 million views across the first two seasons alone ahead of Season 3's launch. Season 1 ranks as Netflix's most popular show ever, while Season 2 smashed multiple records, including most views for a show in its premiere week and entering the Most Popular Non-English TV list in just three days. Season 2 quickly rose to become Netflix's third most popular show of all time.

In a record-breaking debut, Season 3 shot straight to the top of the Netflix Global Top 10 and claimed the ninth spot on the Most Popular Non-English TV List, with 60.1M views in its first three days of viewing. It ranked #1 in every one of the 93 countries where we have top 10 lists, the first time a show has ever achieved this in its debut week, and broke the record for most views for a show in its first three days.

With both Seasons 2 and 3, Squid Game becomes the only show ever to make the Most Popular List in its first week.

The show has captivated audiences and critics alike with all three seasons certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Season 3 has already generated 4.56B impressions across Netflix's global social channels, marking the highest engagement ever for a Netflix social campaign.

The Red-Light, Green-Light clip on TikTok is Netflix's top-performing video of all time on the platform with 128.6M organic views.

On the App Store charts, multiplayer video game Squid Game: Unleashed climbed the ranks to become the #1 Free Action Game in 107 countries upon release.

Hwang Dong-hyuk, creator of Squid Game, said: I am deeply grateful to all the fans for your immense support and love throughout this journey, from Season 1 to the final record-breaking season. Over the past six years, this project has been a truly precious experience for me. Throughout our overseas campaign, I was amazed by the warm welcomes and the growing global interest in Korean culture. Seeing more people enjoy Korean food and culture abroad was incredibly rewarding, and I'm proud that our show may have played a part in this. Thank you all so much.

Download NY Event Photos Here

BRINGING FANS INTO THE GAME

On June 20, over 1,000 fans descended upon Domino Park in Brooklyn, NY, transforming it

into an arena of thrilling games for the day. Attendees had the chance to relive the excitement of Squid Game's most iconic challenges, including Mingle and Pentathlon, and were among the first to experience a new adrenaline-pumping game from Season 3-Jump Rope-supervised by towering Young-hee and Chul-su inflatables, while Pink Guards armed with water soakers stood ready to eliminate players, keeping adrenaline and suspense running high throughout the event. The experience was made even more memorable when Lee Byung-hun (the Front Man) and Director Hwang Dong-hyuk surprised fans with a special appearance at the event.

In addition to New York, the Season 3 campaign will bring the games global with fan challenges popping up everywhere from Mexico to Saudi Arabia, Germany to Thailand to Taiwan and the United Kingdom. From legacy games to the debut of Jump Rope, fans are stepping into the world of Squid Game through immersive activations and events trying local twists on the series' most iconic games. The final games will conclude with a celebratory parade where all of the icons from Season 1 to Season 3 will march through the heart of Seoul with fans and influencers attending from around the world.

Across Seasons 2 and 3, we hosted fan activations in more than 25 countries across 6 continents. Marquee events in 25 countries drew 10 million online and 273,000 in-person fans with nearly 93,000 participants in one-of-a-kind races, mazes and other games inspired by the series in anticipation of its finale. The activations wrapped with an epic parade and fan event in Seoul, Korea on Saturday, June 28, that hosted over 38,000 fans. The familiar icons of the series - including Young-hee, pink guards, among others - marched through the heart of Seoul from Gwanghwamun to Seoul Plaza, culminating in a finale fan event with director Hwang Dong-hyuk, stars Lee Jung-jae, Lee Byung-hun and nearly every cast member from Seasons 1-3 gathered together for one last celebration.

Over 20,000 pink guards kept a close eye on fans around the world for marketing campaigns across the series. Squid Game: The Experience has opened in five cities around the world: New York City, London, Madrid, Sydney and Seoul - each experience has been sold out since opening, and based on current ticket sales, Netflix will welcome over half a million visitors by the end of this summer at Squid Game: The Experience locations around the world. Squid Game: Survive the Trials will invi

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