Wondering why Squid Game Season 3 only has 6 episodes, how it ties into the show’s ending, and what the creator has said about the split? With the final season set to conclude as a global hit, fans are curious about the decision behind its shorter format.
Here’s what we know so far about why Squid Game Season 3 is shorter, what creator Hwang Dong-hyuk revealed, and how it fits into the show’s overall arc.
Why Squid Game Season 3 is so short with just 6 episodes
Squid Game Season 3 has just 6 episodes because creator Hwang Dong-hyuk originally wrote Seasons 2 and 3 as a single story.
“I originally envisioned seasons 2 and 3 as a single story,” Hwang told Entertainment Weekly. “That’s how I wrote it. But in the process, it came out to be too many episodes. So I thought it’d be better to divide it into two.”
According to Hwang, the series was always intended to conclude with Season 3, and the final season’s narrative allows him to complete Gi-hun’s arc. “I wanted to tell the story of what happened to Gi-hun after where we leave him at the end of season 1 and what he does, what kind of actions he takes in order to put a stop to these games,” he explained.
Season 3 premieres June 27, 2025, on Netflix and will mark the end of the series. Hwang confirmed the decision to end the show after Season 3, stating, “The story I wanted to tell came to a full closure at the end of Season 3.”
The six-episode format results from the split of the originally larger narrative. “It came out to be too many episodes,” Hwang said, referring to his initial scripts. As a result, Netflix and Hwang Dong-hyuk decided to split the story into two seasons. This allowed them to avoid condensing the plot or stretching a single season too far.
Filming for Seasons 2 and 3 took place back to back, from July 2023 to June 2024. Post-production was nearly complete by November 2024. The final season will follow Seong Gi-hun’s return to the games, introduce new deadly challenges, and reveal how the Front Man rose to power.
