Ready Player One Summary: Plot, Characters and Ending
Ready Player One follows Wade Watts, a poor teenager in a grim future who spends his life in the OASIS, a vast virtual world. Its late creator, James Halliday, has hidden an Easter egg inside it, and whoever finds it will inherit his fortune and control of the OASIS. Wade races friends, rivals and a giant corporation through puzzles built on 1980s pop culture.
Halliday's clues are drawn from the video games, films and music he loved as a teenager.
| Character | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Wade Watts (Parzival) | Teenage egg hunter |
| Art3mis | Famous hunter and blogger Wade falls for |
| Aech | Wade's best friend in the OASIS |
| Daito and Shoto | Japanese hunters who join the race |
| Nolan Sorrento | Ruthless executive of IOI |
| James Halliday (Anorak) | Creator of the OASIS |
| Ogden Morrow | Halliday's former partner |
What is the contest?
In 2045 the real world is crowded, poor and broken, and Wade lives in a stack of trailers in Oklahoma City. When Halliday dies, his will announces a contest: find three keys, pass three gates and win the egg. For five years no one finds anything. IOI, a huge company, hires thousands of players, called Sixers, to win the egg and take over the OASIS.
↑ Back to the topHow does Wade find the first key?
Wade realizes the Copper Key is hidden in a tomb on the school planet where he studies. He beats a lich at the arcade game Joust and wins the key, becoming the first name on the scoreboard. The first gate makes him replay the film WarGames line by line. Art3mis, Aech and the others soon follow.
↑ Back to the topHow does IOI fight back?
Sorrento offers Wade a fortune to work for IOI. When Wade refuses, IOI bombs his trailer stack, killing his aunt and neighbors; Wade survives because he was elsewhere. Later IOI agents kill Daito in real life. Wade goes into hiding. Art3mis pulls away from him to focus on the hunt.
↑ Back to the topHow are the Jade and Crystal keys found?
Wade finds the Jade Key by playing the old text game Zork. The Second Gate requires a perfect game of Black Tiger and a performance in Blade Runner. Wade then lets himself be arrested and made a servant of IOI to hack their network from inside, exposing their crimes. He learns that Aech is actually a girl named Helen.
↑ Back to the topHow does Ready Player One end?
The Sixers seal Halliday's castle with an impenetrable shield. Wade leads a huge army of players against them, and the shield falls, but Sorrento detonates a device that kills every avatar nearby. Wade survives because he holds an extra life won earlier in a perfect Pac-Man game. Alone, he passes the last gate, including a game of Tempest and a scene from a Monty Python film, and wins the egg.
Halliday's avatar gives him control of the OASIS and advises him to spend more time in the real world. Sorrento is arrested. Wade shares the fortune with his friends and finally meets Art3mis, Samantha, in person, and for the first time he has no urge to go back into the OASIS.
↑ Back to the topMore about Ready Player One
This summary reveals the whole plot, including the ending.