To win Netflix’s reality series Squid Game: The Challenge, players need to make sacrifices if they want to take home a cool $4.56 million (£3.6m).
Following the release of the second series earlier this week, players were prepared to face public shaming for lying to other contestants, like with one player who invented a story about his fake pregnant girlfriend.
But for Melissa (Player 110), the game really felt like life and death.
Speaking to Metro, she revealed: ‘The second I walked into these challenges, I immediately started crying.
‘The level of intensity when you are strapped into a squid vest, I don’t think you can understand what that feels like. My heart would immediately drop every time.
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‘The intensity was so much more than you could even imagine. They’re simple games, but we really were fighting for our lives.
‘$4million is a huge amount of money, and you don’t realise what that feels like until you are put under that kind of pressure.’
The eight-part Emmy-nominated series returned this week, with the first four episodes airing on November 4, introducing us to the 456 brand-new contestants.
On November 11, the following four episodes will air, as shocking new twists and never-before-seen games are played.
What did Metro think?
Our reporter Milo Pope shares his thoughts on the series…
When the original concept of Squid Game: The Challenge was first announced, it instantly made me wince.
Based on the hit South Korean dystopian drama, the reality series sees 456 real players from around the world enter the competition show in pursuit of a record-setting cash prize of $4.56 million (£3.6m).
Instead of the players being brutally killed off one by one, contestants play the same Korean children’s games as in the Netflix series and are booted off the show when fake blood capsules explode on their chest.
To me, it seemed like Netflix had woefully misunderstood the whole point of its drama series, which criticised modern capitalism and shined a light on the inequality and unemployment that still exists in Korea today, by creating a clunky, gimmicky ‘reality’ relative.
To read more, click below.
‘I was running on two hours of sleep a day’
For Jacob – aka Player 432 – a good night’s sleep was a small price to pay to have a chance at winning such a grand prize… but it doesn’t mean it was easy.
He explained what most viewers aren’t able to understand by watching it from home.
‘It’s the eating and sleeping part, definitely,’ he told me.
‘You just don’t see any clocks, so you don’t know what time it is. I could barely sleep in there because you’ve got snorers, you’ve got the movers. It’s terrible.
‘I was running on like two hours of sleep a day, not knowing what time of day it was.
‘It got to a point where I was just so tired, but I had to be awake because the game is so intense. I started hallucinating a little bit because I’d close my eyes, then suddenly I’d have to wake up, and it’s time to play.’
Entering Squid Game: The Challenge alongside his twin brother, Raul (Player 431), Jacob was aware of the massive target on their backs.
‘We knew that we would have eyes on us,’ he says.
Everything you need to know about Squid Game: The Challenge season 2
When is it out?
- The first four episodes will be released on November 4
- Episodes 5-8 will then be shown on November 11
- Episode 9 airs on November 18
How many contestants?
- 456 brand-new contestants will enter the ultimate test of strategy, alliances, and endurance
What is the prize money?
- They will compete for a life-changing $4.56million (£3.6m) prize.
How many views did the first season get?
- Squid Game: The Challenge Season 1 had 20.5 million views in its first week and 11.4 million in the second week. Within its first five days, it drew over 1 million households in the US and became the most-streamed show in the UK.
‘Obviously, we’ve seen the previous shows where, because there’s two siblings, they’re a target. So we just accepted that and moved forward.’
Raul continued: ‘When you’ve got a bond like we do, nothing’s going to break us. We’ve been best friends since we were born.’
Prior to entering the games, the pair shared a terrifying moment when Jacob suffered a seizure back in 2022.
Raul caught Jacob as he began foaming at the mouth, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.
Speaking about the impact this had on them entering the show, Jacob explained: ‘It was such an intense situation, especially at that age, I’m just proud that I overcame it and it was it was all fine.
‘I just didn’t see it as a negative. It didn’t stop me. It made me want to push out of my boundaries more and be more confident.’
‘I’ve never been so happy to be so filthy’
Also speaking to Metro, Faith (Player 361), revealed how contestants live on the bare necessities.
‘We really do just get our one metal water bottle,’ she said.
‘When we look crusty and we have dandruff, it’s because we really weren’t showering as much as we normally would.
‘And it’s the strangest thing because I’ve never been so happy to be such a filthy, unsanitary creature in my life. But I think people at home would be surprised to know that it really was that bad in the best way.’
This article was originally published on October 30, 2025.
Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 airs on November 4 on Netflix.
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