Squid Game Season 3’s Shocking Season-Length Explained

June 27, 2025

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Squid Game season 3 has six episodes, making it the shortest season of Netflix’s Korean smash-hit. Although the world had to wait three years for the second season of Squid Game, the show’s third and final season only took six months. Unlike season 2, which included a time skip right at the beginning of episode 1, Squid Game season 3 starts immediately after Gi-hun’s failed rebellion.

One of the biggest differences between Squid Game‘s first and second seasons is that the former told a complete story, whereas the latter ended on a cliffhanger. While season 1 did tease that the story was not over yet, Squid Game season 2’s finale ended abruptly and left everyone wanting more. Fortunately, Squid Game‘s second and third seasons were produced back-to-back, which is why we wouldn’t have to wait too long for the remaining episodes. However, this also meant that seasons 2 and 3 were going to be relatively short compared to season 1.

Why Squid Game Season 3 Only Has 6 Episodes

Squid Game’s Seasons 2 And 3 Were Written At The Same Time

Myung-gi looking shocked in Squid Game season 3, episode 2

Before the release of Squid Game season 2, the show’s creator, Hwang Dong-hyuk, revealed that he wrote seasons 2 and 3 at the same time (via Deadline). However, Hwang realized that there was a big turning point in the story after episode 7, which is why he decided to end the second season there and leave the rest for the third. We now know that the big inflection point director Hwang was referring to was Jung-bae’s death in season 2’s finale. The fallout of Gi-hun’s rebellion and the final three games were therefore saved for season 3.

Season	Release Date	Number Of Episodes
Squid Game season 1	September 17, 2021	9
Squid Game season 2	December 26, 2024	7
Squid Game season 3	June 27, 2025	6

Given how seasons 2 and 3 were written at the same time, it is only natural that they work as one big story. Three out of six games were played in Squid Game season 2, meaning that season 3 was likely going to have a similar number of episodes as the second season. Unsurprisingly, Squid Game 3 ended up having just one episode less than season 2. Now that both have been released, we can look at Squid Game‘s seasons 2 and 3 as a 13-episode story that was split into two parts.

Squid Game’s Seasons 2 And 3 Are Basically One Big Season

Seasons 2 And 3 Have 13 Episodes Combined

Stranger Things season 4, Bridgerton season 3, and Cobra Kai season 6 are just some examples of Netflix seasons that were split into two or more parts that were then released a few weeks from each other. This is not quite what happened with Squid Game, which actually had separate second and third seasons. But from a narrative standpoint, Squid Game 2 and Squid Game 3 can indeed be perceived as one long season.

The Front Man bathed in the Squid Game colors looking amused

Squid Game star Lee Byung-hun says that a Front Man spinoff is a possibility, but we have to get through the Squid Game 3 finale first.

It took director Hwang a decade to make Squid Game season 1 happen, but he wrote the scripts for seasons 2 and 3 in a matter of months. The massive, game-changing success of Squid Game season 1 meant that a sequel was all but inevitable, and fortunately for Netflix, the show’s creator had more stories to tell. While Squid Game 2 could have worked as a 13-episode season with no cliffhangers, it made sense to save the latter half of the story for a third and final season and have more time for post-production and to build up anticipation.

Squid Game Season 3 Was The Right Time To End The Show

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk Had A Clear Vision For The Story

No-eul holding a gun in Squid Game season 3

The fact that Squid Game season 3 is the show’s shortest only confirms that it was always meant to be the conclusion of the story that began in season 2. This is why season 3 was absolutely the right time to end the Netflix original K-drama.

Squid Game will continue as a franchise – Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge reality show is coming back for season 2, and David Fincher is developing an American spinoff. However, the main series is now over, and thankfully, Hwang was able to tell exactly the story he wanted across 22 episodes in total.

Source: Deadline