Netflix’s Squid Game Franchise Surpasses $9 Billion Globally

The Netflix series Squid Game has evolved from a modestly budgeted Korean drama into a multi-billion dollar global franchise since its 2021 debut, breaking platform viewership records with over 111 million viewers in its first 28 days. The third and final season, released in 2025, continued the saga of Gi-hun and other debt-ridden players, garnering 60.1 million views within three days and becoming the ninth most-watched non-English TV show on Netflix. Despite its massive streaming success, Squid Game's viewership numbers are still surpassed by some iconic pre-streaming television events, such as the M*A*S*H series finale, which drew over 105 million live viewers. For fans looking for similar high-stakes survival drama, the Japanese series Alice in Borderland offers a compelling mix of psychological and physical challenges, with a strong audience approval rating and a sci-fi twist on the deadly games formula. Alongside Squid Game, other Netflix hits of 2025 include the British crime series Dept Q and the true-crime-based limited series about the Corby poisonings, illustrating the platform's diverse popular content offerings.