$456,000 Squid Game in Real Life!

2021 YouTube video by MrBeast August 2023 August 2023 Squid Game "$456,000 Squid Game in Real Life!" $456,000_Squid_Game_In_Real_Life!.jpg MrBeast surrounded by guards Thumbnail for "$456,000 Squid Game in Real Life!" on YouTube Squid Game Hwang Dong-hyuk Jimmy Donaldson 2021 11 24 25 minutes United States English $3.5 million no "$456,000 Squid Game in Real Life!" is a YouTube video by American YouTuber Jimmy Donaldson, known on the platform as MrBeast. The video, released on November 24, 2021, is a competition based on the games featured in the 2021 South Korean Netflix show Squid Game. Donaldson began work on the video in October 2021. Partially funded by Finnish video game developer Supercell to promote its mobile game Brawl Stars, the video cost 3.5 million to produce, of which $2 million was spent on sets and production and $1.5 million was given as cash prizes to the contestants. Donaldson recreated several of the show's sets for the video. As in the show, the 456 players competed in a series of games until only one player remained. After the video was published on November 24, 2021, it quickly received over 100 million views and became MrBeast's most-viewed video (not including Shorts). 2026 07, it has received over 942 million views. Publications praised Donaldson for his accurate recreations of the sets, but some critics saw the video as unoriginal and a misunderstanding of Squid Games anti-capitalist themes. Donaldson later created a second video with a similar theme, "50 YouTubers Fight for $1,000,000", which featured a challenge adapting the dalgona-cutting "game" from Squid Game.July 17, 2024 Youtuber uruguayo Fede Vigevani compitió junto a Ibai y otros influencers en un reto por US$ 1 millón de MrBeast: este fue su resultado Uruguayan Youtuber Fede Vigevani competed with Ibai and other influencers in a challenge for US$ 1 million from MrBeast: this was his result https://www.elobservador.com.uy/youtuber-uruguayo-fede-vigevani-compitio-junto-ibai-y-otros-influencers-un-reto-us-1-millon-mrbeast-este-fue-su-resultado-n5951708 live https://web.archive.org/web/20240727115234/https://www.elobservador.com.uy/youtuber-uruguayo-fede-vigevani-compitio-junto-ibai-y-otros-influencers-un-reto-us-1-millon-mrbeast-este-fue-su-resultado-n5951708 July 27, 2024 July 27, 2024 El Observador eshttps://tribune.com.pk/story/2479628/jaidenanimations-wins-mrbeasts-1-million-youtube-challenge-outlasting-logan-paul-and-ksi?amp=1 JaidenAnimations wins MrBeast's $1 million YouTube challenge, outlasting Logan Paul and KSI July 14, 2024 The Express Tribune https://web.archive.org/web/20240727215550/https://tribune.com.pk/story/2479628/jaidenanimations-wins-mrbeasts-1-million-youtube-challenge-outlasting-logan-paul-and-ksi?amp=1 July 27, 2024 live July 27, 2024 He also developed an Amazon Prime Video television series, Beast Games, which was similar in concept but did not use Squid Game branding.Hutchinson Chase 2024-12-19 Beast Games Review https://www.ign.com/articles/beast-games-review-mr-beast-prime-video 2024-12-22 IGN en https://web.archive.org/web/20260130174701/https://www.ign.com/articles/beast-games-review-mr-beast-prime-video 30 January 2026 Background Squid Game is a South Korean television series developed by Hwang Dong-hyuk and first released on Netflix in 2021. The show centers around a fictional game show in which 456 indebted contestants compete to the death in variants of traditional children's games to win a large cash prize.Lopez Jalen 2021-10-14 MrBeast is recreating the popular show Squid Game https://dotesports.com/general/news/mrbeast-is-recreating-the-popular-show-squid-game 2023-05-23 Dot Esports en-US 2023-05-23 https://web.archive.org/web/20230523041549/https://dotesports.com/general/news/mrbeast-is-recreating-the-popular-show-squid-game live The show received critical acclaim and became Netflix's most-viewed show in its first month. In November 2021, Josh Coulson of TheGamer described Squid Game as a "worldwide phenomenon".Coulson Josh 2021-11-09 MrBeast Is Building Squid Game Set Replicas And Plans To Use Them https://www.thegamer.com/mrbeast-squid-game-set/ 2023-05-27 TheGamer en 2023-05-27 https://web.archive.org/web/20230527020606/https://www.thegamer.com/mrbeast-squid-game-set/ live Jimmy Donaldson created the YouTube channel MrBeast in 2012.Gale Ashley 2022-06-15 Internet Wants MrBeast to Be a Part of Netflix's 'Squid Game' Challenge https://www.newsweek.com/internet-wants-mrbeast-part-netflixs-squid-game-challenge-1716298 2023-05-23 Newsweek en 2023-05-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20230525031647/https://www.newsweek.com/internet-wants-mrbeast-part-netflixs-squid-game-challenge-1716298 live The channel rose to popularity in 2017 for Donaldson's stunts and challenges, which tend to be philanthropic, ambitious, and expensive.Alexander Julia 2019-10-25 MrBeast changed YouTube and launched an entire genre of expensive stunt content https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/25/20924718/mrbeast-youtube-stunts-challenges-money-philanthropy-creators-morgz 2023-05-23 The Verge en-US 2019-12-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20191218170709/https://www.theverge.com/2019/10/25/20924718/mrbeast-youtube-stunts-challenges-money-philanthropy-creators-morgz live MrBeast became one of the most-subscribed YouTube channels, with 75.9 million subscribers by the time "$456,000 Squid Game in Real Life!" was released.Hirwani Peony 2021-11-25 YouTube star creates real-life Squid Game with 456 players and £342,000 cash prize https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/squid-game-real-youtube-mrbeast-b1964007.html 2023-05-27 The Independent en 2023-05-27 https://web.archive.org/web/20230527015030/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/squid-game-real-youtube-mrbeast-b1964007.html live Production On October 11, 2021, Donaldson published a video on TikTok saying he would recreate Squid Game if the video received 10 million likes, which was achieved. Work on the video began in mid-October.Haysom Sam 2021-11-29 IRL 'Squid Game' gets 100 million YouTube views in 4 days https://mashable.com/article/mrbeast-squid-game-100-million-views https://web.archive.org/web/20251121070336/https://mashable.com/article/mrbeast-squid-game-100-million-views 21 November 2025 2023-07-17 Mashable en YouTuber William Osman was hired by Donaldson to lead an engineering team to create blood squibs to explode with fake blood on a contestant's elimination; Osman was given three weeks to deliver five hundred of the devices.Adam Fabio 2022-04-14 Engineering On A Deadline For Squid Game https://hackaday.com/2022/04/14/engineering-on-a-deadline-for-squid-game/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20230711062024/https://hackaday.com/2022/04/14/engineering-on-a-deadline-for-squid-game/ 2023-07-11 2023-07-11 Hackaday en-US "$456,000 Squid Game in Real Life!" cost 3.5 million to produce. The video was sponsored and partially funded by Supercell to promote its mobile game Brawl Stars.Adekaiyero Ayomikun YouTube star MrBeast created a real-life 'Squid Game' set and had people compete for $456,000 https://www.insider.com/mrbeast-recreats-squid-game-watch-youtube-cash-prize-2021-11 2021-11-25 2023-05-27 Insider en-US 2023-08-31 https://web.archive.org/web/20230831011319/https://www.insider.com/mrbeast-recreats-squid-game-watch-youtube-cash-prize-2021-11 live Wilde Tyler 2021-11-25 $3.5M Squid Game recreation is about as accurate as you can get without actually shooting anyone en PC Gamer https://www.pcgamer.com/mr-beast-squid-game-real-youtube/ 2023-05-23 2021-11-26 https://web.archive.org/web/20211126011446/https://www.pcgamer.com/mr-beast-squid-game-real-youtube/ live $2 million of the budget was spent on sets and production, while the remaining $1.5 million was used for cash prizes. Matt Pearce of the Los Angeles Times noted that the video cost $134,600 per screen minute to produce, while Squid Game itself cost approximately $43,500 per screen minute.Pearce Matt 2021-12-09 How much did MrBeast's 'Squid Game' remake on YouTube cost? We did the math https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-12-09/mr-beast-youtube-squid-game-video-hit 2023-07-16 Los Angeles Times en-US 2023-07-16 https://web.archive.org/web/20230716183806/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-12-09/mr-beast-youtube-squid-game-video-hit live Donaldson recreated several sets from the show, including the contestants' bunk room, the tug of war platform, and the indoor playground.Yeo Gladys 2021-11-25 YouTuber stages real-life 'Squid Game' with $456,000 cash prize https://www.nme.com/news/tv/youtuber-mrbeast-stage-real-life-squid-game-with-456000-cash-prize-3104457 2023-05-27 NME en-GB 2023-05-27 https://web.archive.org/web/20230527015035/https://www.nme.com/news/tv/youtuber-mrbeast-stage-real-life-squid-game-with-456000-cash-prize-3104457 live Ashcraft Brian Real-Life Squid Game Without The Bleak Violence Is A Big Hit On YouTube https://kotaku.com/real-life-squid-game-without-the-bleak-violence-is-a-bi-1848130108 2021-11-29 2023-07-17 Kotaku en 2023-07-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20230717194047/https://kotaku.com/real-life-squid-game-without-the-bleak-violence-is-a-bi-1848130108 live Some of the post-production was completed by visual effects company SoKrispyMedia. Video thumb|Dalgona, a Korean candy used as a game round in the video and the TV show "$456,000 Squid Game in Real Life!" is a recreation based on Squid Game and is not intended to be a parody, according to PC Gamer. Donaldson cast 456 contestants, and a $456,000 prize was awarded to the winner.Khanna Monit YouTuber Recreates Real-Life Squid Games In Viral Video With $456,000 Top Prize https://www.indiatimes.com/technology/news/mr-beast-real-life-squid-games-youtube-555094.html 2021-11-25 2023-05-27 IndiaTimes en-IN 2023-05-27 https://web.archive.org/web/20230527020613/https://www.indiatimes.com/technology/news/mr-beast-real-life-squid-games-youtube-555094.html live Eliminated players are given at least $2000 each as a consolation prize.Golby Joel The Guide #11: the YouTuber going viral for his Netflix knockoff https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/dec/03/the-guide-squid-game-mr-beast-youtube 2021-12-03 2023-07-24 The Guardian en-UK 2023-07-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20230725040518/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/dec/03/the-guide-squid-game-mr-beast-youtube live Mirroring the show, the players competed in a series of games, each reducing the number of players. The games were, in order: Red Light, Green Light; the Dalgona game; the marble game; tug-of-war; ddakji; the glass bridge challenge; and musical chairs. There were some deviations from the show: Donaldson's game included ddakji as a round, which was featured in the show but not as a game round. Additionally, the final round was musical chairs instead of the show's titular squid.Singh Ishan 2021-11-30 Inside YouTuber MrBeast's real-life Squid Game – that cost US$3.5 million https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3157862/inside-youtuber-mrbeasts-real-life-squid-game-viral 2023-07-03 South China Morning Post en 2023-07-13 https://web.archive.org/web/20230713151654/https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/news-trends/article/3157862/inside-youtuber-mrbeasts-real-life-squid-game-viral live The winner of the grand prize was player 079. Release and reception The video was published to the MrBeast YouTube channel on November 24, 2021. The video reached 100 million views within three days and quickly became one of Donaldson's most-viewed videos.Press-Reynolds Kieran MrBeast's 'Squid Game' is already one of his most popular YouTube videos of all time after just 4 days https://www.insider.com/mrbeast-squid-game-youtube-popular-video-recreation-millions-views-2021-11 2021-11-29 2023-07-11 Insider en-US 2023-08-31 https://web.archive.org/web/20230831011310/https://www.insider.com/mrbeast-squid-game-youtube-popular-video-recreation-millions-views-2021-11 live Brawl Stars saw a 41 percent increase in downloads and a 54 percent increase in revenue within six days of the video's release.Ahmed Wasif 2021-12-02 Brawl Stars sees sharp increase in downloads after MrBeast's Squid Game video https://dotesports.com/mobile/news/brawl-stars-sees-sharp-increase-in-downloads-after-mrbeasts-squid-game-video 2023-07-03 Dot Esports en-US 2023-07-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20230703172103/https://dotesports.com/mobile/news/brawl-stars-sees-sharp-increase-in-downloads-after-mrbeasts-squid-game-video live Interviewed at the 2021 Gotham Awards, Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk responded to the video, saying "I loved it, and it helped me to promote the show, too, so I want more people to do it." Jennifer Bisset of CNET described the re-enactment as "scarily real-looking",Bisset Jennifer Real-life Squid Game re-creates Netflix show with $456,000 prize https://www.cnet.com/culture/entertainment/real-life-squid-game-re-creates-netflix-show-with-456000-prize/ 2021-11-24 2023-07-16 CNET en 2023-07-16 https://web.archive.org/web/20230716182304/https://www.cnet.com/culture/entertainment/real-life-squid-game-re-creates-netflix-show-with-456000-prize/ live and journalists from Polygon and Vice News described it as "perfect".Jackson Gita 2021-11-29 Mr. Beast's Squid Game Ripoff Is Exactly the Kind of Video YouTube Rewards https://www.vice.com/en/article/mr-beasts-squid-game-ripoff-is-exactly-the-kind-of-video-youtube-rewards/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20230831012239/https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7dd7j/mr-beasts-squid-game-ripoff-is-exactly-the-kind-of-video-youtube-rewards 2023-08-31 2023-07-22 Vice News enKesvani Hussein 2021-12-02 The success of MrBeast's Squid Game is its own dystopia https://www.polygon.com/22812548/mrbeast-squid-game-youtube-copycat-reaction live https://web.archive.org/web/20211202173316/https://www.polygon.com/22812548/mrbeast-squid-game-youtube-copycat-reaction 2021-12-02 2023-07-17 Polygon en-US Reality TV editor Katherine Griffin likened the video to reality television for its style and length, but disapproved of its lack of credits for the editors. Charles Cameron of Screen Rant praised the video's faithful re-enactment and called it an "admirable homage", but criticized its use of product placement for "ruin[ing] the immersion".Cameron Charles Mr Beast's Squid Game Compared To The Show: What Went Right, Wrong & Better https://screenrant.com/mr-beast-squid-game-show-comparison-differences-better/ 2021-11-28 2023-07-22 Screen Rant en 2023-07-22 https://web.archive.org/web/20230722215853/https://screenrant.com/mr-beast-squid-game-show-comparison-differences-better/ live After the view count of "$456,000 Squid Game in Real Life!" surpassed that of Squid Game itself on Netflix, YouTube's former head of creator product marketing, Jon Youshaei, tweeted in praise.Deangelo Daniel Viral Mr Beast Squid Game Tweet Draws Controversy Over Creator Economy https://gamerant.com/mr-beast-squid-game-tweet-controversy-creator-economy/ 2021-11-30 2023-07-17 Game Rant en 2023-07-17 https://web.archive.org/web/20230717194046/https://gamerant.com/mr-beast-squid-game-tweet-controversy-creator-economy/ live He wrote that the video having a higher view count, a shorter production time, and "fewer gatekeepers" than Squid Game exemplified "the promise of the creator economy." The tweet was criticized by publications and Internet users for ignoring the differences between the production of a television series and that of a YouTube video, and for apparently dismissing Donaldson's debt to the creators of Squid Game. Youshaei ultimately deleted his tweet. Critiquing the concept of the creator economy in response to Youshaei, Amanda Silberling of TechCrunch noted how creators who make high-budget videos must continuously increase their budgets such that viewers do not "become desensitized" to their production value and novelty. As Donaldson has stated that he makes "razor-thin [profit] margins" on his videos, Silberling argued that these increases in expenditure are unsustainable, writing "the success of [the video] may be better news for YouTube, or even Netflix, than it is for Donaldson". Gita Jackson of Vice News and Hussein Kesvani of Polygon saw the video as exemplary of a "fundamental" problem of YouTube: derivative and unoriginal content which profits from the work of others (e.g. reaction videos); Kesvani described the video as the "logical conclusion of this creator economy". Donaldson received criticism from some journalists and the wider online public for a perceived misunderstanding of Squid Game's anti-capitalist themes. Jackson called the video "perverse" and a "recreation of the villain's ultimate desire to watch desperate people compete for money purely for his amusement". According to Silberling, the video lacked the "emotional resonance and suspense" of the show because the contestants faced no risk of punishment for losing. Tyler Wilde of PC Gamer considered it "hard to declare that $3.5 million spent on a YouTube video and cash prizes is bad, but $21.4 million spent on a Netflix show is good" in light of criticism of the video's large budget, calling it "about as accurate [a recreation] as you can get without actually shooting anyone". Matt Pearce of the Los Angeles Times described stylistic differences between the show and the video, such as the replacement of Squid Game's "high-minded social commentary" with "the MrBeast house style of upbeat stunt philanthropy". Pearce noted the "narrative efficiency" of its extensive use of fast cuts, music changes, and sound effects and graphics in the style of American reality television. Like Donaldson's other videos, the video uses clickbait marketing and an "outrageously absurd" premise to convince viewers to watch, a style that Donaldson has "pioneered and perfected" according to Amanda Silberling of TechCrunch.Silberling Amanda 2021-12-03 MrBeast's 'Real Life Squid Game' and the price of viral stunts https://techcrunch.com/2021/12/03/mrbeast-squid-game-creator-economy-viral/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20230722183104/https://techcrunch.com/2021/12/03/mrbeast-squid-game-creator-economy-viral/ 2023-07-22 2023-07-22 TechCrunch en-US See also Squid Game: The Challenge, a 2023 reality television series References External links 0e3GPea1Tyg $456,000 Squid Game in Real Life! 18296440 Category:2020s American game shows Category:2021 YouTube videos Category:MrBeast Category:Works based on Squid Game Category:2020s viral videos Category:Films about competitions