Squid Game Returns In Crossover With Hit Game Franchise

Published Sep 5, 2026, 3:55 PM EDT Ben Brosofsky has been writing for Screen Rant since 2022 and editing since 2024. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor's in Cinema & Media Arts. Writing serves as a much-needed distraction from tackling a backlog of Steam games that will never be surmounted. Squid Game might be a pointed critique of hyper-capitalism, but the smash success of its Netflix release inevitably led to an equally capitalist fate as any other franchise. Ever since the show's first season, marketing and merchandising for Squid Game has been an unstoppable force. That's not to say that every Squid Game tie-in is without merit. The game-based nature of the show lends itself naturally to interactive adaptations, from the mobile title Squid Game: Unleashed to the tabletop Squid Game: Let the Games Begin. The latest interesting product in that long succession has now arrived, and this one crosses it over with a successful board game series. Zombicide: Squid Game is the newest expansion for Asmodee's Zombicide: 2nd Edition, a cooperative board game where players fight to survive in apocalyptic streets crawling with undead. The Squid Game expansion mashes that concept with the idea behind the show, tasking players with both surviving a zombie onslaught and dealing with Squid Game-style hazards. Squid Game fans will find plenty of familiar faces and concepts in this expansion, from the inclusion of the Front Man to locations like the Playground and Marble Village. The Young-Hee Doll also poses a threat that shakes up the nature of the gameplay, adding another layer of strategy to movement. If you're not already a Zombicide player, the bad news is that Zombicide: Squid Game requires a copy of the base game Zombicide 2nd Edition. Compared to releasing a standalone Squid Game variant, this seems like a large hurdle to attract fans of the show who might not already be invested in the board game ecosystem. On the bright side, it offers a robust experience as an expansion, as the long list of inclusions clearly indicates. It might be an easier buy for fans of Zombicide, whether they're caught up on Squid Game or not. Squid Game's concepts are simple enough to understand without having seen the show, and their natural suitability for a board game context makes this more than a fan-oriented crossover. Either way, it's clear that Squid Game isn't going away any time soon, and a tie-in with a proven board game success might result in a better experience than Squid Game: Let the Games Begin. Throwing zombies into the mix makes for an unusual twist, to be sure, but that's all part of the appeal for Zombicide veterans. Squid Game Created by Hwang Dong-hyuk First TV Show Squid Game Latest TV Show Squid Game: The Challenge First Episode Air Date September 17, 2021 Cast Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo, Wi Ha-joon, Jung Ho-yeon, Oh Yeong-su, Heo Sung-tae, Kim Joo-ryoung, Anupam Tripathi, Lee Yoo-mi, Gong Yoo, Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Gyu-young, Park Sung-hoon, Jo Yu-ri Current Series Squid Game, Squid Game: The Challenge Squid Game is a South Korean survival drama television series created by Hwang Dong-hyuk. The show follows financially desperate individuals who are lured into a deadly competition of children's games for a massive cash prize. With its blend of social commentary, psychological tension, and striking visuals, it became a global phenomenon on Netflix and has expanded into a multi-season franchise.