Squid Game fans will soon be able to compete against each other for free

In amongst announcements on price plans ending in the US and subscriber growth, Netlix's quarterly report to shareholders also included a really tantalising tidbit about its plans for the next season of Squid Game. 

We know that the show's second season is coming sometime in 2024, but with half the year already in the rearview mirror, it's not exactly clear when that'll happen yet. 

What we also now know is that the streaming service has a potentially ambitious plan to accompany the new season with a fresh gaming release to let fans of the series compete for themselves.

In a section about its gaming initiative, which is now three years old, Netflix said: "Separately, we will premiere a multiplayer game based on the Squid Game universe later this year timed to the launch of season two of our biggest TV series ever."

That's the sort of wording that both tells us one huge headline (there's a multiplayer Squid Game title on the way) but also leaves us in the dark on a whole heap of other details. We don't yet know how many players it'll support, whether it'll tie into the new season or when it will arrive.

We have a good idea it'll be offered for free, considering other games offered by Netflix are done so at no extra cost, but even that's not guaranteed at this stage.

Whatever the case, it's certain that Netflix is doing its level best to leverage the titanic success of Squid Game's first season. 

This already resulted in the reality show Squid Game: The Challenge, in 2023, which seemingly did pretty well without coming close to replicating the numbers offered by the show itself. Now, Netflix will be hoping that by adding a gaming sideshow to the second season, it'll be able to pump even more engagement from people. 

Given that we're now speeding towards August and there are only so many months left in the year, don't be surprised if we get a first teaser for Squid Game Season 2 fairly soon.

Netflix will want to allow plenty of time for the hype to build, after all.