'The stakes are high': Netflix seeks recruits for real-life 'Squid Game'

Netflix is set to create a reality TV show based on its popular series Squid Game, which will include 456 real players who will compete for $4.56 million.

The production company announced on Tuesday that it is looking for recruits for the competition, which will have "the largest cast in reality TV history".

"As they compete through a series of games inspired by the original show - plus surprising new additions - their strategies, alliances, and character will be put to the test while competitors are eliminated around them," Netflix said.

The firm opened a website for applications.

"Squid Game: The Challenge" is looking for English-speakers from around the globe, aged at least 21 and free to travel for up to a month in early 2023.

Describing the new reality show as its "biggest-ever social experiment", Netflix says players will compete "in a series of heart-stopping games".

'The worst fate is going home empty-handed'

Squid Game is a game where people, who are deeply in debt, compete for money at the cost of their lives.

"The stakes are high, but in this game the worst fate is going home empty-handed," the platform promises.

The original fictional series was seen as a biting satire on modern capitalism, with contestants drawn from the fringes of society to play children's games for the chance to win big sums of money -- with the threat of being killed if they lose.

The new announcement comes shortly after Netflix confirmed a second season of the "Squid Game" was on the way.

In April, its creator Hwang Dong-hyuk said the follow-up would not be ready until 2024.

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