Netflix's Squid Game finally returned for its sophomore season in late 2024, and now the popular Korean drama has been renewed for its third and final season. Debuting in 2021, the dystopian thriller involves a game show that enlists desperate players to participate in familiar children's games to win cash. Unfortunately, those games come with deadly consequences that play out for the amusement of the nation's wealthy elite. Season 1 took the world by storm when it debuted internationally, and it became one of the streamer's biggest shows of all time.

Despite its popularity, Squid Game season 2 wasn't rushed back into production, and took over three years for the follow-up to finally arrive. Once again following survivor Gi-hun, the second season shifts tone a bit as he tries to tear down the dystopian games from the inside. Without skimping on the delightfully deadly games in Squid Game, the second season raises the stakes, as the objective isn't just to survive and win, but to destroy the evil institution that hosts the games in the first place. Season 3 is already confirmed, but it will also be the last.

Squid Game Season 3 Latest News

Netflix Confirms The Season 3 Release Date & Reveals New Images

Despite the fact that the second season is still quite fresh, the latest news confirms the release date for Squid Game's third and final season. In early January 2025, promotional material for season 3 was released which announced the show would be returning on June 27, 2025. Those social media posts were quickly deleted, but around a month later, Netflix came forward to confirm that release date. Now, Squid Game season 3 is due to arrive around six months after the debut of season 2, a significant change from the three-year wait between seasons 1 and 2.

Along with the release date, Netflix revealed a series of first-look images from Squid Game season 3 which tease a deadly final outing. One image shows the contestants looking at a black coffin, while another shows Gi-hun handcuffed to a bed. The Front Man is shown looking dour as always, and there is a close-up of a person in a mask. Finally, Netflix dropped the season 3 poster which shows a contestant being dragged across a field of flowers by a person in a mask.

See the pictures here:

Squid Game Season 2 Release Date

The Games Conclude In June 2025

Arriving as one of the biggest series in Netflix's history, it came as no surprise that Squid Game season 2 was quickly green-lit. However, the extended wait between seasons could have put a damper on the show's eventual return in 2024, and ruined any chance of a third season. Those fears were unfounded though, as Netflix opted to renew Squid Game season 3 a few months before the arrival of the second installment. The August 2024 announcement came with a fan letter from creator Hwang Dong-hyuk, thanking the world for its warm reception to Squid Game.

The announcement did come with some sad news as well, and it was confirmed that the third season of Squid Game will also be the last. On the flip side, Hwang Dong-hyuk promised that Squid Game would arrive in 2025, a much faster turnaround than season 2. Since the announcement, Netflix has confirmed that Squid Game season 3 will premiere on June 27, 2025. This is only six months after the season 2 premiere, and a much shorter wait between the first two seasons.

In January 2025, Netflix Korea accidentally posted a video that revealed June 27, 2025, as the season 3 release date, but that video was quickly deleted. Netflix has since confirmed that date.

Squid Game Season 3 Is The Last

A Trilogy Of Seasons On Netflix

Netflix's choice to announce season 3 as the final outing will bring even more attention to Squid Game.

Though Squid Game is one of the most popular shows in streaming history, season 3 will be the final installment. The news isn't particularly surprising, especially since the Squid Game concept isn't one that should be stretched on for season after season. It's an especially apt place to close the series, after the ending of season 2 left things unresolved. Season 3 now has the chance to wrap up the story without having to stretch things out unnecessarily. On top of that, Netflix's choice to announce season 3 as the final outing will bring even more attention to Squid Game.

Squid Game Season 3 Cast Details

Who Survived The Squid Game In Season 2?

Though many characters perished during the events of Squid Game season 2, there were also plenty of survivors who will certainly return in season 3. Still trapped in the nightmarish games, Lee Jung-jae's Gi-hun will likely be the main protagonist in season 3, especially in the aftermath of his failed uprising attempt. He isn't the only player to participate in the uprising that made it through season 2, as Dae-ho (Kang Ha-neul) and Hyun-ju (Park Sung-hoon) both presumably survived since they were back in the dorms when the Masked Men restored order.

Less combative contestants like mother-son duo Geum-ja (Kang Ae-sim) and Yong-sik (Yang Dong-geun) made it through, and there's no reason to think that the roster will change much between the seasons. Jun-hee (Jo Yu-ri), Myung-gi (Im Si-wan), Nam-gyu (Roh Jae-won), and Seon-nyeo (Chae Kook-hee) will help fill out the roster as the games presumably continue in the third and final season. The dastardly Front Man (Lee Byung-hun) is a necessity in season 3, and the compelling B-plot involving the traitorous Captain Park (Oh Dal-su) means Jun-ho's (Wi Ha-jun) team will need to reprise their roles in season 3 as well.

The cast of Squid Game season 3 will likely include:

Squid Game Season 3 Story Details

Gi-hun Still Has To Finish The Squid Game

he has to decide if he wants to continue his Quixotic quest, or just try to survive the last of the games.

After a chaotic and unsurprisingly violent conclusion to Squid Game season 2, things are clearly set up for an epic conclusion in the third and final season. Not only did Gi-hun's plan to tear down the games from the inside fail spectacularly, it cost him a dear friend and maybe even his sanity in the process. Proving that they could break his spirit at will, the minds behind the games decided to let Gi-hun live, even though he was the ringleader of the rebellion. Now, he has to decide if he wants to continue his Quixotic quest, or just try to survive the last of the games.

Elsewhere, Jun-ho's mission to infiltrate the games from the outside hit a snag when it was revealed that the swarthy ship captain, Park, was actually a double agent. This not only puts Jun-ho and Woo-seok's lives in danger, but it likely means that Gi-hun won't have any outside help on the final leg of his journey through Squid Game. While a bevy of shocking twists are expected, the final season will likely continue the deadly game to its conclusion. The mid-credits sequence puts a new spin on the classic red-light-green-light game, suggesting that each task is getting deadlier.