Squid Game season 3 is almost here, which means Netflix's most popular show ever will soon be coming to its (surely shocking) conclusion.
The latest update is a confirmed release date, first look pictures, and even a clip shown behind closed doors. You can get up to speed on those in our guide below.
After season 2's dramatic finale, the stakes are higher than ever for Gi-hun and the rest of the players. But who is coming back to the cast? What are the biggest unanswered questions left by the latest episodes? Will Gi-hun beat the Front Man at his own game, or is there no hope for him?
All will be revealed when the final batch of episodes arrive later this year. Here, we gather everything you need to know about the last season of one of Netflix's best shows. Following the massive streaming success of season 2, which landed the streamer's biggest ever premiere week, the next batch of episodes promise to be another unmissable release.
Below we get into all the major details about Squid Game season 3, so you can get up to speed at a glance. Before scrolling on though, make sure you've seen all of Squid Game season 2 as we're getting into major spoilers below. You have been warned.
Squid Game season 3 release date
Squid Game season 3 will be released on June 27, 2025. That's the same as the accidentally leaked date that surfaced earlier in the year.
Surprisingly, this is just a few months after season 2 was released, so there's not long to wait for the return of Netflix's most popular show.
Squid Game season 3 plot speculation *SPOILERS*
At the Next on Netflix event in early 2025, GamesRadar+ was treated to a first look at season 3. Along with brand new images, which you can see throughout this guide, we also got to see a clip of season 3.
In the footage, contestants are shown turning the dial on a prize machine that contains red and blue balls. Intriguingly – and potentially upsettingly – some of the show's core allies receive opposing colors. While Jun-hee (Player 222) draws a red ball, Myung-gi (Player 333) draws blue. Mother and son Jang Geum-ja (Player 149) and Park Yong-sik (Player 007) also draw opposite colours, while Dae-ho (Player 388) draws blue, as does Hyun-ju.
Then, Player 456 enters the room, and the others fall silent. Gi-hun draws his own ball – red. Whispering starts up as the clip ends. This confirms Gi-hun has indeed been returned to the games after his failed rebellion in the season 2 finale.
So, from this, we can assume that Player 456 is indeed back in the game. It also seems to be setting up another devastating game that pits friends and family against each other, just like season 1's marbles round. Though, it's equally possible that this is a bait-and-switch, and the different colors are sorting the contestants into separate groups for another reason.
As for the rest of the games, we know that one will involve the dolls Young-hee and Chul-su, thanks to the Squid Game season 2 post-credits scene. Judging by the drawings on the dormitory walls, the remaining two games would seem to involve monkey bars and a chess-style boardgame.
Elsewhere, we might see Jun-ho make it to the island and reunite with his brother, and we're expecting the revelation of who In-ho really is to hit Gi-hun hard when it comes.
In an interview with Variety, Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk talked about what's next for Gi-hun, saying: "As for the storyline of the third season, Gi-hun having lost everything, including his best friend, and all of his attempts going to failure, it’s now, what is he going to be like? What state is Gi-hun going to be in? And what will he choose to do? Will he continue on with the mission? Is he going to give up or persist? And so you’re going to meet our character Gi-hun at a very critical crossroads as we begin the third season. Gi-hun will not be the man he was in season 2."
One thing feels certain though – the shocking deaths are not over.
Speaking about the show's ending, creator Dong-hyuk shared that he changed his mind over the ending. "Usually when I get to writing a script, I do it where I think of the ending first, and then I try to make the journey, or the path to reach that ending the most entertaining way possible," he said to GamesRadar+ and other media at a roundtable. "But this time around, it was actually different. I started out writing the story thinking of a particular ending, but along the way, I realised that this is not where the story should be headed, so I changed the ending mid-process."
Squid Game season 3 cast speculation
As is expected with Squid Game, there were a lot of deaths in season 2. This means the cast list for season 3 is much smaller than the second outing. At the moment it looks like the following actors and characters will return:
- Lee Jung-jae as Seong Gi-hun
- Wi Ha-joon as Hwang Jun-ho
- Lee Byung-hun as Hwang In-ho, the Front Man
- Park Sung-hoon as Hyun-ju
- Kang Ha-neul as Dae-ho
- Jo Yu-ri as Kim Jun-hee
- Park Gyu-young as No-eul
- Chae Kook-hee as Seon-nyeo
- Lee David as Min-su
- Kang Ae-sim as Jang Geum-ja
- Yang Dong-geun as Park Yong-sik
- Im Si-wan as Lee Myung-gi
- Oh Dal-su as the Captain
- Roh Jae-won as Nam-gyu
Is Squid Game season 3 the final season?
Yes, Squid Game season 3 will be the final season of the Netflix show. Speaking about this decision, creator Dong-hyuk told GamesRadar+ and other media why this is. "When you look at Squid Game at the end of the day, it's really all about Gi-hun's journey. The way he returned and gave up wanting to go see his daughter, returned from the flight and goes back into the game, wanting to put an end to it.
"So, the storylines for seasons 2 and 3 are going to be about his journey and the viewers wanting to know, 'Will he succeed, will he fail?' And at the end of his journey, what would Gi-hun look like? So, at the end of the day, it's really a story told by Gi-hun, and it's a story of Gi-hun and also what changes he goes through as a character through these series of events. So I always thought that it had to be, it had to come to a closure with Gi-hun's story by season 3. I thought that it would be meaningless to tell a story further than that."
Squid Game season 3 trailer speculation
No trailer for Squid Game season 3 has been released yet, and it's likely we won't see this until much closer to the show's release date. For season 2, the trailer was released as part of Netflix Geeked Week so this may be one to watch in 2025 as well. Tudum is also returning this year, so watch this space.
Squid Game season 2 is available to stream on Netflix now. For more, check out our Squid Game season 2 review and our Squid Game season 2 ending explained. We've also got guides to the best Netflix movies and the best Netflix horror movies to stream right now.
