Squid Game, a Korean show in which 456 impoverished contestants compete in deadly children’s game for a large cash prize, took the internet by storm following its release this last September. The show blew past expectations of Netflix’s Korean team led by Minyoung Kim. Written and directed by Hwang Dong-hyuk, the show stars lead roles consisting of actors Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-jun and Jung Ho-yeon.
Now the question we’ve all been waiting for: What does this have to do with gaming? Well, in a recent Hollywood Reporter article, Korean team leader Minyoung Kim spoke of ideas to expand the Squid Game IP. One of those ideas would be for a potential Squid Game video game.
Many fan-made video game adaptations have already surfaced on the internet, the most popular being a game mode in Roblox. This game mode allows players to traverse all six stages of the game seen on the show, from Red Light, Green Light to the actual Squid Game. Players additionally are allowed to kill other players in the nights between games. Already, streamers and YouTubers alike have taken to playing said game mode and posting it online.
Other similar game modes have been modified to other games, such as Overwatch. In the Overwatch custom game mode section, players can simply look up ‘Squid Game‘ and find themselves able to play a bizarre version of Red Light, Green Light.
Content creators online have also taken it upon themselves to recreate the game as a contest, having other creators and friends compete for real cash prizes. One of the more notable creators to do this has been YouTuber Mr.Beast, who is well known for having executed similar large-scale projects in the past. Mr.Beast, in particular, took to recreating the game in Minecraft.
Here, the game was modified in an interesting manner. For example, in the honeycomb stage, players were set to play a sort of build battle, meant to build their shape as fast as they could. Whichever team was last would lose. In tug of war, rather than it being a game of pull, the game consisted of players attempting to hit members of the other team off the stage.
Although various game modes similar to Squid Game already exist, there’s no denying that if such a video game did exist, people would definitely flock to buy it. Seeing all these game modes that have cropped up in the last month, it is more than clear that there is a demonstrated demand for a Squid Game video game. Whether fans of the soon-to-be franchise will receive one though, we must wait and see.