Is Squid Game: The Challenge Real?

22 December 2023, 11:18

Squid Game: The Challenge is filling the void for those who loved the original Squid Game drama series. But is it real?

Netflix viewers are awaiting news on Squid Game season two and in the meantime have been watching Squid Game: The Challenge, a competition for real people hoping to win a multi-million pound prize.

Squid Game: The Challenge is the spin-off to the thriller series that landed on Netflix in 2021, which saw its characters invited to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play games and potentially win millions. The catch: being killed for losing.

Two years later and fans of the original series are still waiting for news about season two after it was confirmed, and in the meantime Squid Game: The Challenge has been keeping drama fans fed.

• Read more: Here's What Is Going To Happen In Squid Game Season 2
• Read more: Who Is The Winner Of Squid Game: The Challenge?

Hundreds of participants took part with the hope of winning over $4 million, with people applying from all over the world.

Squid Game: The Challenge formally announced

Is Squid Game: The Challenge real?

Viewers will be pleased to know Squid Game: The Challenge is real in that the players competing are real people taking part hoping to win the $4 million (£3.2m) prize.

The reality version includes 456 players competing in well-known games like Battleship and Dalgona, as well as challenges originally taken on in the 2021 thriller series like Red Light, Green Light and the game that involves cutting out a cookie shape without it breaking.

Every player has a tracker in their tracksuit which acts as a motion sensor. They also have pack of ink strapped to their chest which they call ‘squibs’ which, when activated by the game operators, marks the end of their time in the game.

The difference between Squid Game: The Challenge and Squid Game is of course that the players don’t actually die in the former. Instead, they’re fitted with a black ink capsule which spews from their vest when they’re eliminated, a moment which the players make the most of in acting out their deaths.

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