Squid Game Fans Can Soon Play Squid Game For Real, Which Should Turn Out Fine
I don't want to have to tap the sign again, but when are people going to learn that playing "Squid Game" in real life completely misses the point of the original series? The latest venture of "Playing 'Squid Game' in Real Life," or as I like to call it, "Grown Adults Playing Red Light, Green Light for Sport," comes from the interactive gaming and technology company Immersive Gamebox. Netflix has given the company the rights to create an immersive, interactive game based on "Squid Game," which will be based in a new venue in New York City's Lower East Side neighborhood. The multiplayer game will allow 2-6 players at a time to compete in challenges inspired by the popular "Squid Game" series, including rounds of Red Light, Green Light and Marbles.
"People are constantly seeking new and different ways to remain invested in their favorite content," said Immersive Gamebox CEO Will Dean in the official press release. "To reimagine Netflix's most popular show in an entirely new format offers customers more ways to stay connected to 'Squid Game.'" Immersive Gamebox currently has locations in Dallas, Chicago, Houston, and Denver, and has made games inspired by other popular IP, like "Angry Birds." All of the gameplay will take place in the company's Gameboxes with the assistance of motion sensing technology and touch screens, instead of the alternative of gathering a bunch of friends in someone's driveway like it's elementary school all over again.
Experiencing Netflix beyond streaming
Admittedly, the ability to fully enter the world of "Squid Game" complete with pastel colored stairs and Younghee the Red Light, Green Light doll is pretty cool, but it does seem to betray the anti-capitalist heart of "Squid Game" to pay money in order to play traditional playground games that were used to determine whether or not someone was going to walk away with millions of dollars or be killed on the spot. The issue here is not the existence of Immersive Gamebox (which looks fun as hell), but the fact "Squid Game" is all about dismantling the establishment and highlighting the ways wealth and greed force those in poverty to extreme lengths to survive. Perhaps they should look at the possibility of an "Is it Cake?" experience where users get to scream at the cakes on screen for points, instead of just terrifying their neighbors from the comfort of their couch.
Netflix allowing Immersive Gamebox to use the "Squid Game" IP is the latest in their continued effort to expand their reach outside of streaming. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Netflix is also bringing an official "Stranger Things" immersive experience to New York, London, and San Francisco, and a "Bridgerton" experience (called The Queen's Ball) to Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Chicago. I doubt we'll be seeing a "Netflixland" theme park any time soon, but it seems like we'll be seeing more of these themed immersive pop-up events in the future.