Squid Gamehas been one of 2021’s most prolific and popular TV shows, becoming Netflix’s most-watched show of all time. Not only did its criticism of capitalism and the disconnection of the wealthy classes resonate with viewers all over the world, but it’s simply a thrilling TV show rich with compelling characters, and it’s now a pop culture phenomenon much likeGame of Throneswas a few years back. There were some mixed opinions aboutSquid Game’s ending, but overall, the display of traditional kids' games in a deadly setting was so fun to watch that it spawned several copycats online, especially onMinecraftandRoblox.
One of these many imitations ofSquid Gameis the Steam gameCrab Game. Battle royale games likeFortnitehave been incredibly popular in the last several years, so it’s not odd that players would want to want to be thrown into intriguing settings like the stages ofSquid Game. However,Crab Game, while clearly inspired by the Netflix TV show, is more accessible as folks don’t need to ownMinecraftto have access to player-made levels, and thoughRobloxis completely free for its users, Steam’s client can reach more players overall.
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This has resulted in incredible popularity on Steam, where virtually anyone can upload their games for the masses. Throughout November,Crab Gamehas been just as popular in concurrent player numbers asApex LegendsandGrand Theft Auto 5at times. It also became one of the most streamed games on Twitch with folks like Pokimane and xQc taking a whack at it.
How Crab Game Differs From Squid Game
The closerCrab Gameis toSquid Game’s overall design and direction, the more likely it is to get slapped with legal action. Because of that, it’s more than a shot-for-shot remake of the TV show. There are some levels like the glass window game and Red Light, Green Light that are pulled fromSquid Game, but there are also plenty of original minigames for players to face off in.
One is the floating rock level, which is a cross between the glass window game andFall Guys' Hex-A-Gone stage, where rocks are either stable or will crumble under the player’s feet. Another game is inspired byMario Party, where players are presented with five buttons that may or may not cause them to explode immediately.
Crab Gamesupports up to 35 players, meaning it won’t be as chaotic as 456 players going up against each other, 28 maps, and 9 game modes. But like anybattle royale, the number of players will dwindle down as they get eliminated during rounds.
Overall,Crab Gameis just ahilarious knockoff ofSquid Gamethat uses its best and most chaotic battle royale levels but is also using the branding of the show to its advantage because many of its games are not actually fromSquid Gameat all. On the Steam page, it says, “Definitely not based on any online streaming pop culture Korean TV shows” to avoid any kind of legal trouble, but the irony is that using designs similar toSquid Gamehas caused it to soar to popularity. However, it’s free to play, so the developer likely hasn’t earned any direct profit from the IP.
At this point, it’s highly likely that a propervideo game based onSquid Gamelicensed by its creators will release at some point in the future. It’s hard to say whether or not the hype around the TV show will last that long, so perhaps a collaboration with a battle royale likeFortnitewould perform better and keep players away from copycats.
