Squid Game is back for season 3, and it looks to be the last instalment of the hit series.

After unprecedented success with the first season back in September 2021, the release of the second series was received with slightly less wild acclaim and causing even less online discourse. The third instalment has dropped, and has been confirmed to be the final chapter in the story.

Created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, who based the survival thriller horror storylines on his own financial struggles and how he viewed the class disparity in South Korea, Squid Game‘s premise sees game players compete for a cash prize, with those who lose facing brutal death and the prize pool increasing. And the worst part? The underlying message that human nature perpetuates the games.

So the most recent season of Squid Game will conclude the series, and many critics have said this is a good thing. ScreenRant has rightfully assessed that “the core premise of survival and Gi-hun’s quest for revenge could feel repetitive. Therefore, by only using its key story drivers as narrative devices until season 3, Squid Game will seemingly end on a high note where it is neither tedious nor weighed down by predictable story developments.”

Dong-hyuk has confirmed that “there are no plans to make a season four. It is something we discussed and worked on while working on season three.”

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He added that while the season 3’s ending might leave fans feeling that a season 4 is possible, but “it doesn’t necessarily have to be made”.

Will there be a Squid Game spin-off?

Although the main series isn’t getting another season, Dong-hyuk has confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that he’s interested in exploring the Squid Game universe further through spin-offs. He said that he often considers what the characters were doing at a particular time.

“I actually had this faint ideation about possibly a spinoff – not a sequel, but maybe a spinoff about the three-year gap between season 1 and season 2 when Gi-hun looks around for the recruiters,” he said.