Slither.io joins ‘Stranger Things’ fans in viral attack on Netflix

Story Highlights

Slither.io hijacked the Stranger Things finale backlash to blast Netflix for promoting “clone” games.
The gaming account went viral by sharing cryptic “missing files” to support the #Byler fandom.
What began as a trademark lawsuit has evolved into a massive social media crusade for transparency.

At the end of 2025, a surprising event unfolded online: a clash between the popular mobile game Slither.io, streaming powerhouse Netflix, and devoted fans of the show Stranger Things. What began as a typical disagreement over ownership rights quickly turned into a massive online phenomenon, with the official Slither.io account launching a full-scale attack on Netflix and dominating social media discussions.

Okay, so things got crazy on December 28th, 2025. I was listening to this really fun Twitter Space all about my favorite Stranger Things pairing, Byler – you know, Will and Mike – and suddenly, @slitherio just jumped in and totally disrupted everything! It was wild.

As a fan, I was really disappointed to hear that Netflix might have cut important scenes between Will and Mike – the ‘Byler’ moments we were all hoping for – in the final episodes. It seems like they were worried about how conservative viewers would react and decided to play it safe, which is a huge letdown.

Someone criticized Netflix on social media, saying, “Good job canceling your most popular show! Also, please release the files for Volume 2!”

Good job abandoning your flagship series @Netflix! Also, #netflixreleasethevolume2files!
— slither.io (@slitherio) December 28, 2025

Slither.io escalated by sharing two cryptic hex strings, purportedly hashes of the “missing” files.

A long-simmering venom

The unexpected support for Stranger Things wasn’t accidental; it was a strategic move against a competitor. The real target of this effort was Netflix Games, specifically its popular game Snake.io. The creators of Slither.io, Lowtech Studios, have been in a legal battle with Netflix Games since 2023, and this was a way to indirectly challenge them.

Lowtech Studios claims that Snake.io is a direct copy of their game, pointing to very similar logos and names that have caused ongoing confusion among players.

A lot of people seem to be mistakenly thinking something is available on Netflix. What’s causing this confusion? @Netflix, can you clarify?
— slither.io (@slitherio) December 29, 2025

Okay, so this is frustrating. I’ve been playing Slither.io for ages, and it really bugged me to see Snake.io – basically a copycat – get the ‘Official Netflix Game’ label. A fan mentioned it, and I just had to tag Netflix and ask what was up with that. It feels like a slap in the face, honestly.

Is there anything you’d like to say about this @Netflix?
— slither.io (@slitherio) December 28, 2025

The account fully embraced the idea of shutting down, sharing images of bewildered followers and jokingly vowing to copy the bright, colorful style of a competing account.

What do you think, @Netflix? Should this be our new logo? It’s pretty original, right?
— slither.io (@slitherio) December 28, 2025

Slither.io cleverly used the passionate online fanbase for the “Byler” pairing from Stranger Things to turn a boring trademark disagreement into a huge online trend. This resulted in millions of views and surprisingly positioned the simple “snake game” as a symbol of openness and honesty.

A long-simmering venom

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