Ernest Cline has signed a deal that will bring Ready Player One to the metaverse, meaning we’re in for a virtual reality web3 gaming experience of some sort. It won’t be dystopian, though.
If you’ve dreamed of entering the virtual world woven by Ernest Cline in his 2011 novel Ready Player One – or Steven Spielberg’s busy 2018 film adaptation – there’s good news. Cline has, along with producer Dan Farah and the tech company Futureverse, launched a new studio that aims to make Ready Player One’s digital realm a (virtual) reality.
Called Readyverse Studios, the new venture is in the process of “building the definitive destination for fans to explore their favourite stories and IP in the metaverse.”
This virtual destination, based on the pop culture-encrusted one outlined in Cline’s book and film, will be entered via “augmented reality and virtual reality technologies” – so presumably it’ll be compatible with VR headsets like Oculus Quest or PlayStation VR2, though the company hasn’t yet announced any specifics.
Instead, a press release says that Readverse is currently “laying the groundwork to bring the promise of the open metaverse depicted in Cline’s Ready Player One […] into a tangible reality; a multi-world, multi-IP, interoperable open metaverse experience for mass consumers.”
Driving the technology behind the project is Futureverse, which describes itself as a ‘leading AI technology and content company’. The press release talks an awful lot about web3, so we’re guessing there’ll be blockchain tech and cryptocurrencies involved in some way. For the uninitiated, this means we’ll be able to buy and sell digital items like pretend hats and t-shirts, but they’ll have a number attached to them that means they’re totally unique. Or something.
While the book and film depicted a dystopian future in which our downtrodden society’s only escape was into an online game awash with recognisable characters and brands from a bygone century, Cline is upbeat about the project.
“The future has arrived even more quickly than I imagined,” Cline said in a statement. “With Readyverse Studios, we have the opportunity to leverage the revolutionary technology Futureverse has been building for several years to bring to life the best possible version of the metaverse. I’m confident with this team, we have the brightest minds and biggest hearts in place to lead us into the next chapter of our collective future… a future that would make Wade Watts and James Halliday proud.”
More news on Cline’s real-world Ready Player One project as we get it.
