What Was The Budget For Squid Game: The Challenge?

4 December 2023, 17:26 | Updated: 5 December 2023, 15:25

Squid Game: The Challenge was scarily lifelike to convince viewers – and the players – it was the real deal. But how much did it cost to make?

Squid Game: The Challenge is so scarily similar to the drama series that inspired the reality competition, many Netflix viewers were left wondering if it was real life.

While we can confirm it definitely wasn’t real, the $4.56 million (£3.6 millions) prize was. And to increase their chances of getting closer to that jaw-dropping number, over 400 players had to take on games like Red Light Green Light and the Dalgona cookie challenge.

The games are scarily lifelike and many have been left wondering just how much the budget was for Squid Game: The Challenge, and how much each episode cost to film.

• Read more: Squid Game: The Challenge Contestants Spill What Filming Was Really Like
• Read more: Will There Be A Squid Game: The Challenge Season Two?
• Read more: Was The Glass Bridge Scene In Squid Game: The Challenge Real?

Squid Game: The Challenge contestants spill on "gritty" conditions 😳

What was the budget for Squid Game: The Challenge?

There are no public reports on how budget Netflix bosses had for Squid Game: The Challenge, but to put things into perspective the original, series Squid Game, had a budget of $21.4 million (£16 million).

The contestants weren’t paid for their time, instead each hoping to reach the final and get their hands on the $4.56 million prize. They did receive some benefits however, such as the production company paying for their travel.

How much did it cost to make Squid Game: The Challenge?

Each episode of Squid Game: The Challenge cost around $1 million (£800k) to film, that’s including the sets, costumes and looking after each contestant. There were 10 episode in total, meaning the show cost over $10 million (£7.8 million) to film!

To give players the full Squid Game experience, they slept in bunkbeds arranged in multiple rows, they had to share a bathroom, with many contestants comparing the experience to staying at a festival, and they didn't know if it was daytime or nighttime.

"This isn’t the kind of show where someone yells “CUT!” at the end of the day," Netflix say on their pop culture website Tudum.

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