To promote the sequel to Ready Player One — a book about a treasure hunt inside a virtual universe — author Ernest Cline has partnered with the hit kids game Roblox to re-create something akin to the plot of the original novel: a hunt for clues and prizes inside a virtual world.
Roblox says the treasure hunt will take place across seven different game worlds. The first world is already open, but it sounds like the event really kicks off on December 1st when a Q&A with Cline and Roblox CEO Dave Baszucki will air inside the game. Players will be “awarded virtual goods” specific to the Ready Player Two event for completing the treasure hunt.
Warner Bros. previously partnered with Roblox for a similar event to promote the film adaptation of Ready Player One, with 13 million people participating. In the two years since, Roblox’s usage has soared so a lot more players may end up joining this time. “I think it’s fair to say this is going to be even bigger,” Baszucki said in a statement.
Roblox filed to go public last week. The company revealed it now has 31.1 million daily users, up from 12.0 million in 2018, when the Ready Player One event was held.
Ready Player Two comes out on November 24th. The original was a huge hit, and the sequel appears to be pushing the same idea forward, once again sending its protagonist on a treasure hunt through the Oasis, Cline’s fictional metaverse.
Cline hyped up the similarities to the Roblox event in a press release, saying, “Roblox is the closest thing to the Oasis in real life, and this contest is the closest thing to the treasure hunt in my book.”
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Originally published at https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/23/21594054/ready-player-two-roblox-treasure-hunt-ernest-cline on .
