Netflix‘s Squid Game: Unleashed scored growth this week thanks to the launch of the final season of the streaming television show a week ago.
Netflix did an update to the Unleashed mobile game, which had previously debuted with Season 2 and saw 20 million downloads it has seen since its release. The folks at AppMagic analyzed the history of the Squid Game franchise in games, and they found a spike in downloads, though it was smaller than in the past season.
Squid Game’s first season debuted in 2021 as a surprise hit on Netflix. The South Korean TV show pitted down-on-their luck contestants in a deadly series of childhood games, with a winner-take-all battle royale where the final victor took home a huge cash prize.
The show scored a phenomenal 265.2 million viewers, making it the most popular streaming show of all time.
There were no licensed games ready at the time as Netflix was just beginning its push into games. But knockoffs were plentiful, as AppMagic reported. In 2021, there were 2,554 apps using the keyword “squid” in the stores in 2021, including 145 games, AppMagic said.
Out of 322 mobile games to date inspired by the show, only 5% remain in the stores, the company said. Many were removed due to low quality, intellectual property violations or lack of support.
Roblox user-generated games
The games were successful all over Roblox, but again they were made without official licenses. In Roblox, players themselves launched dozens of new Squid Game-themed modes—from the classic “Red Light, Green Light” survival challenges to glass bridge elimination runs—making them multiplayer-friendly and highly replayable.
When Season 2 launched in December 2024, a wave of Squid Game-inspired user-generated content pushed the Roblox platform to 21.7 million downloads— moving on to hit a new all-time peak of 24 million installs in January 2025.
The second streaming show season from creator Hwang Dong-hyuk debuted in December 2024, and it got the most views for a show in its premiere week. It ranks No. 2 on all-time views on Netflix with 192.6 million views (as of last week).
The show boosted interest in sponsored product placements, with Vans slip-on sneakers sales increasing 8,000%; and Halloween costumes sold out around the world, shaping trends and solidifying its place in pop culture. After season two, only six games remained on the stores, as Netflix had its IP enforcement under control.
Drawn in by the recognizable theme, players create accounts and get familiar with Roblox’s controls and core mechanics. From there, the platform’s algorithm takes over, recommending similar games and highlighting what their friends are playing to encourage further exploration and boost retention across Roblox, AppMagic said.
After getting enough of a Squid Games-inspired app, players move on and download something else from the App Store, capping their LTV. But with user-generated content, the impact is not just a quick win: a viral moment can turn into long-term value, with no paid UA or real investments, AppMagic said.
Squid Game: Unleashed
Squid Game made Emmy history with first-ever wins for a non-English language show and Season 2 was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Television Series – Drama. In 2023, Netflix debuted the Emmy nominated and BAFTA winning reality competition Squid Game: The Challenge.
The franchise continues to expand with Squid Game: The Experience, a touring activation where fans can play games inspired by the show and with Squid Game: Unleashed. Sandbox VR also has a big hit with a VR experience of Squid Game at its location-based entertainment venues.
This season, Netflix’s official licensed game, built by Boss Fight, added new content like the Season 3 scene “Jump Rope” to its survival games. Other new updates to its mini-games included “Hide and Seek,” an original, deadly twist on the classic children’s game, and “Sky Squid Game,” an homage to the original games.
With this season’s game update, Netflix also expanded last season’s ‘Watch Along,’ which invites members to ‘Play Along,’ and automatically earn multiple rewards per episode by simply watching Season 3 of Squid Game — something only Netflix can do.
Even with 20 million installs since its launch in November 2024, the mobile game from Netflix fell short far short of what this global phenomenon could have achieved, AppMagic said.
The timing was tough. The game hit the spotlight long after the initial mobile hype wave had peaked, missing the 2021–2022 spike when player appetite was at its highest. Besides, launching the game only eight months before the final season left little time to build meaningful traction.
After all the TikTok challenges and hypercasual clones, the audience had already seen Squid Game adapted in many forms, AppMagic said. So when Netflix finally showed up, not only was the demand partially satisfied, but the expectations may have been higher than what the game offered, and it just wasn’t enough to engage players for the long term.
In fact, Roblox beat Netflix at its own game, AppMagic said. It just proves that you don’t need to own an original IP to profit from the trending media. What truly matters is hitting the right moment, staying in touch with your audience, and executing well, AppMagic said.
Diana Levintova, business development manager at AppMagic, said in a message to GamesBeat that, judging by the leading title from Netflix inspired by the show, there was a spike in downloads: 11,000 daily initials plateau before June 27 (the latest season release date) and 258,000 daily downloads as of July 3 and still growing. However, compared to the peak daily installs after the season 2 release (915,000, when the game was notably fresher) it’s notably smaller.
Another interesting thing is that the number of new games released after the new season was considerably smaller than after the first season (65 vs 2,554), Levintova said.
Fornite UGC
Fortnite, now a full UGC platform beyond its battle royale roots, saw the same wave roll in. with Squid Game.
After each Squid Game season, players built dozens of themed “islands,” turning scenes from the show into multiplayer challenges. Today, there are about a hundred of them, many of which have attracted thousands of players organically.
This highlights that the show remains highly relevant in the gaming space: not just as a visual theme, but as a gameplay blueprint that players actively seek to recreate, given the right tools and creative freedom to do so.
Epic Games actually followed its community’s lead and announced an official Squid Game collaboration right before the show’s final season. The update introduced themed maps, character skins, weapons, and limited-time tournaments, giving players another chance not just to watch the show, but to step right into it.
This is how you listen to your community, AppMagic said. You build on what they already love, and deliver it with polish. Despite the sharp decline in new “squid” titles, AppMagic said Squid Game is still trending where it counts, especially in UGC platforms.
As an adendum, I would note that I just finished watching the show. And to Netflix, I would commend it on bringing the story to a close after three seasons and delivering an emotional tour de force. There are so many tragedies embedded in this tale, and the end ing was heartwrenching. I consider this to be part of the brutal TV genre, so difficult to watch but also with so many things to say about our basic humanity. I think this is the direction for Netflix to go with this property. The game, as is, is really a comedy. I think Netflix needs to think about a way to deliver a game with the same impact as the show.
Meanwhile, one last tidbit from AppMagic. Pokémon Go saw its best revenue day on June 29, at least since 2025. The Niantic (now owned by Scopely) game saw nearly $7 million in one day thanks to the Pokémon GO Fest event.
