Lee Jung-Jae as Gi-hun looking determined with other players behind him in Squid Game season 1Squid Game season 2 has an official release date. A second season has been eagerly anticipated since the series became a global hit after Netflix released season 1 in September 2021. Squid Game season 1 ended on a major cliffhanger as Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) decided not to board his flight to the United States and instead turned around, determined to take down the Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) and the twisted games that claimed hundreds of lives.

Netflix has now revealed that all episodes of Squid Game season 2 will be available to stream on December 26, along with news that a third and final season will premiere in 2025. Check out the announcement video below:

The announcement features the Squid Game contestants in their numbered green and white tracksuits as they run, and some fall onto a racetrack while the Front Man watches and declares, “It’s been three years. Do you want to play again?” The eerie music from season 1 can also be heard in the promotional video.

Will Squid Game Season 2 Be As Successful As Season 1?

Season 1 Set A High Bar

Gi-hun on the phone in Netflix's first footage of Squid Game season 2
 Masked guards holding onto their guns in Squid Game The Red Guard walking between rows of contestants in Squid Game Gi-hun trying to slap a recruiter in Squid-Game Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun with his finger in the air in Squid Game Gi-hun on the phone in Netflix's first footage of Squid Game season 2
Masked guards holding onto their guns in Squid Game The Red Guard walking between rows of contestants in Squid Game Gi-hun trying to slap a recruiter in Squid-Game Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun with his finger in the air in Squid Game

Investment in Squid Game will have naturally dwindled since the fall of 2021, and it may be unable to consume social media and popular culture discourse the way it did three years ago.

While Squid Game season 2 will undoubtedly result in extensive viewership for Netflix, it will be difficult to live up to the success of season 1. Part of the appeal of Squid Game season 1 is that it was a completely new, bold, and shocking series, and there was no widespread awareness of it until it was available to stream and good word of mouth quickly spread. This cannot be replicated, and some of the series’ bolder and more shocking tendencies cannot be as impactful when these elements are already expected for season 2.

Another challenge is season 2 being released more than three years after season 1’s debut. This streaming issue is not unique to Squid Game, including a similar amount of time passing between recent seasons of Netflix’s Stranger Things. Nevertheless, it is still frustrating, and it is reasonable to think that investment in Squid Game will have naturally dwindled since the fall of 2021, and it may be unable to consume social media and pop culture discourse the way it did three years ago.

There is also the matter of the show’s unsubtle commentary about socioeconomic disparity being ignored in favor of Squid Game-themed spectacle, ranging from viral “Red Light, Green Light” trends on social media to even Netflix making a reality series, titled Squid Game: The Challenge. Just because the show’s themes are being overlooked does not mean season 2 will be unsuccessful, though. Squid Game season 2 will likely do well, but may not reach the same heights as season 1.