• by Colin Kirkland , March 11, 2024

Readyverse Studios -- the “multi-world, multi-IP, interoperable open metaverse experience for mass consumers” created in part by Ready Player One writer Ernest Cline -- has announced an immersive battle royale game, marking the company’s first metaverse gaming experience.

“Open,” which Readyverse Studios debuted at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas on Monday, is a third-person battle royale game that invites players to compete in a collaborative game-show-styled environment that involves shooting, tactical positioning and driving.

In a trailer on YouTube, the company describes the game as “a multi-biome, multi-IP, multi-mode” experience “in development for PC and next gen platforms.”

Players are able to explore environments and acquire skins inspired by Cline's science fiction novel, which established a blueprint for the virtual-reality world that has become known as the metaverse.

Cline and partner Dan Farah -- who produced the book's film adaptation, and technology company Futureverse Studios, a platform made up of 11 gaming and blockchain companies --  first announced Readyverse Studios in early January with the intention to build a “destination for fans to explore their favorite stories and IP in the metaverse, leveraging web3, metaverse games and experiences, augmented reality, and virtual reality technologies.”

The studio quickly partnered with Warner Bros. Discovery for a “Ready Player One” franchise in the studio's “Readyverse” metaverse environment, which Cline and Farah described as “a dynamic interactive platform of interconnected digital experiences” that “will champion the principles of the open metaverse made known in the original book and film.”

“Open” was developed in partnership with Walker Labs, a video game and next-gen web tech developer that released an open-world multiplayer shooter and adventure game called “Walker World” in 2022.

As of now, “Open” is being developed for PC. Curious players are able to sign up to a waitlist for early access.