Oscar Wilde once humorously remarked that life imitates art, a sentiment that Ernest Cline, the author of the 2011 virtual reality adventure novel "Ready Player One," seems to be embodying quite literally. Teaming up with Dan Farah, the producer of the Spielberg-directed film adaptation, and Futureverse, an AI and metaverse company, the 51-year-old novelist has co-founded Readyverse Studios.
This groundbreaking venture aims to establish The Readyverse, described as an unprecedented studio creating a destination in the metaverse for fans to immerse themselves in their favorite stories and intellectual properties.
The ambitious plan of Readyverse Studios involves launching The Readyverse, which is described as a "dynamic interactive platform of interconnected digital experiences." These experiences will seamlessly integrate iconic franchises into an immersive AR/VR platform.
The studio's initial focus is on bringing the Ready Player One franchise into The Readyverse, and it has formed an exclusive partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery to extend the Ready Player One universe into the web3 metaverse. The press release hints at additional announcements of brands and franchises joining The Readyverse in the near future.
Readyverse Studios is not only concentrating on blending beloved franchises but also on laying the groundwork to materialize the promise of an open metaverse, as depicted in Cline's 'Ready Player One' novel and its blockbuster film adaptation. The goal is to create a multi-world, multi-IP, interoperable open metaverse experience for a broad audience. Although details about the specifics of The Ready Player One metaverse and user interactions are scarce, the company anticipates a launch sometime in 2024.
Ernest Cline, the novelist and co-founder of Readyverse Studios, expressed enthusiasm, stating, "The future has arrived even more quickly than I imagined." He highlighted the opportunity to utilize Futureverse's revolutionary technology to bring the metaverse to life, expressing confidence in the team's capabilities to lead into the next chapter of our collective future.
Futureverse, co-founded by Shara Senderoff and Aaron McDonald, emphasizes that The Readyverse will uphold key principles of the open metaverse, including provable digital ownership, community-owned infrastructure, decentralization, security, and interoperability.
Dan Farah, co-founder of Readyverse Studios, sees the venture as offering exciting metaverse opportunities for Hollywood studios, talent, and brands. He envisions it as a means to create new revenue streams and creative outlets for brand expansion while delivering the promised experience of an open metaverse to consumers.