Netflix is celebrating Squid Game Season 3 breaking fresh records for the streaming service, despite a mixed response to the show's finale from fans.
Season 3 earned itself a "record-breaking debut", Netflix has said, by becoming its first series ever to rank #1 in all of the company's main 93 markets during its debut week. The new season has also broken Netflix's record for the most views notched up by a show over its first three days.
According to Netflix's publicly-available stats, Squid Game Season 3 had an astonishing 60,100,000 views over the week ending June 29, with 368,400,000 hours watched. But while Netflix has gone on to also boast of having "all three seasons certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes," this claim is only valid when you look at critical scores, rather than user reviews.
On Rotten Tomatoes, Squid Game's third season user rating stands at just 50%, a sizable drop compared to the audience response for the show's first and second runs (84% and 63%, respectively).
Squid Game Season 3 has drawn fire from some fans for its uneven pacing and character development, particularly for its hero Seon Gi-hun, Player 456. Further cringe-inducing scenes featuring the games' non-Korean VIPs have also been criticised, as well as a general sense that the show simply isn't as good, or surprising, as its breakout debut season.
And then there's the matter of the show's unexpected finale cameo, which sees a Hollywood star make a bizarre appearance that some fans have said is an entirely uncessary addition, and an obvious attempt by Netflix to suggest the franchise would continue on further, now well beyond the initial story envisioned by its original creator.
It is, of course, not surprising that Netflix would want more from Squid Game. The series has been an enormous hit for Netflix overall, with its first season now the company's biggest TV release of all time by some margin, and Squid Game's second season only beaten by the first season of Wednesday.
But by continuing the show to its third season — and potentially further, if reports that David Fincher is now developing a US-based spin-off come to fruition — could Netflix be stretching the concept too far?
"Squid Game’s long-awaited finale comes with some creative missteps," IGN wrote in our 7/10 Squid Game Season 3 review, "but it continues to bring the captivating thrills and blood-stained social commentary that made it a runaway hit from the start."
Image credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Netflix.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
