Ready Player One sequel: Book to be published November 2020

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

I hope that your body is ready for another megadose of nostalgia later this year because the Penguin Random House imprint Ballantine Books is getting ready to publish Ernest Cline's Ready Player One sequel novel, titled Ready Player Two, in North America on November 24. Pre-orders for the highly anticipated novel are now live, with international publication dates set to be announced in the coming months.

Here's the official synopsis for Ready Player One:

A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready?

In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the OASIS, a vast virtual world where most of humanity spends their days.

Then Wade cracks the first clue. Suddenly he’s beset by rivals who’ll kill to take this prize. The race is on—and the only way to survive is to win.

Now considered by many to be a cult classic, Cline's novel was adapted for the big screen in 2018 courtesy of Warner Bros. with none other than Steven Spielberg at the helm. At the time of the film's release, READY PLAYER ONE scored more than $582 million at the worldwide box office.

While Ballantine has yet to reveal details on the Ready Player One sequel plot, my guess would be that the book will continue Wade's story, and possibly explore his turn as the new architect of OASIS.

To say that Ready Player One was a popular page-turner would be a gross understatement. Upon the book's release, it was almost impossible to hold a conversation with a fellow nerd and not make mention of Cline's nostalgia-driven tale. Hell, it even arrived as a free gift courtesy of Loot Crate. As far as trips down memory lane go, Ready Player One is a hell of a fun journey, and it's to be hoped that the sequel is just as masturbatory as the original.