Netflix's hit series Squid Game is officially returning for season 2, Variety reported on Thursday.

Ted Sarandos, the streaming giant's Co-CEO and Chief Content Officer, announced the return of the Korean survival thriller during Netflix's fourth-quarter 2021 earnings interview.

When asked if the series would be returning for another season, Sarandos said, "Absolutely. The Squid Game universe has just begun."

A rep for Netflix did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.

The announcement probably isn't too surprising for fans of the series based on statistics alone. Season 2 has been expected since Squid Game became the most-streamed Netflix series to date in October with over 111 million viewers. That skyrocketed Squid Game past the previously most-watched series, Bridgerton, which fell behind by a whopping 29 million viewers.

Squid Game season 1 even ranked in Netflix's Top 10 in all 94 countries that have the rating system.

Squid Game

Noh Juhan/Netflix Squid Game

The show's creator also hadn't shied away from conversations about the potential for upcoming seasons. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk shared his plans for season 2 of Squid Game in a translated conversation with The Associated Press.

"So there's been so much pressure, so much demand and so much love for a second season. So I almost feel like you leave us no choice!" he said. "But I will say there will indeed be a second season. It's in my head right now. I'm in the planning process currently. But I do think it's too early to say when and how that's going to happen."

He also teased the plot of the Korean drama series. Dong-hyuk focused on the future of winner Gi-hun.

"If there were to be a season 2, in the first season that we saw Gi-hun is a character whose humanity is shown through or exposed in certain situations," he shared with Entertainment Weekly. "In other words, his humanity is shown through a very passive manner. But I would think that in the second season, what he has learned from the games and his experience in the first season, they will all be put to use in a more active manner."

The creator and director also confirmed to The Korea Times last month that he was in conversation with Netflix about seasons 2 and 3. "I'm in talks with Netflix over season two as well as season three," he said. "We will come to a conclusion any time soon."

The plot follows a group of financially insecure Korean men and women who compete in the dangerous Squid Game in order to win a giant piggy bank full of money. Through each level of the games, some advance and others are killed. The sometimes-brutal thriller focuses on monetary inequality and how humanity can crumble (or persevere) when there's money to be won.