Looks Like We’re Going to Miss Ready Player One’s Deadline for an Important Event
An important date from Ready Player One is approaching and the OASIS is no where to be seen.
We’ve finally caught up to a key moment in Ready Player One’s fictional history. Virtual reality platform the OASIS first went live on December 8, 2025, according to an entry in Ogden Morrow’s journal. Unfortunately, we aren’t quite ready for the OASIS just yet, though a few things are getting close to what we might have hoped Gregarious Games had in store for us.
There’s Zuckerberg’s metaverse, which we can access on a Meta Quest device. It’s an impressive piece of kit with some good ideas, but it’s not the OASIS. His VR and AR dreams haven’t fully embraced the concept of legs yet, let alone a truly immersive, realistic world where anything can happen.
Then, there’s Fortnite. Without the VR element, the Epic Games mainstay comes as close as possible to replicating a place where worlds collide; where you can fight Jason Vorhees in a Bob Belcher skin and find treasure playing duos with Sabrina Carpenter, while Christopher Nolan implores you to watch Tenet.
Despite the OASIS lingering out of our reach, December 8, 2025, isn’t quite as important as today, because on December 2, 2025, its co-creator, James Halliday, went on a date with Kira. This failed date is one of the most important moments in Ready Player One, even though it transpires long before the story’s main events. The painfully awkward meeting between the brilliant but socially inept James and the charming Kira sets the stage for everything that comes after.
James has done well to even invite Kira on the date, but when she gets there, he freezes up and can’t really even hold a conversation with her. Kira is uncomfortable and leaves early, and James never gets the courage to ask her out again or express his feelings towards her. She then begins a romance with his best friend, Ogden, and James is left wallowing in regret, growing more insular and focusing solely on building the OASIS.
The date’s importance in Ready Player One isn’t really about love or romance. It symbolizes all of Halliday’s struggles to connect with other people. It’s why he designs the OASIS’s intricate egg quest in the first place. It’s a warning to other players that choosing isolation over vulnerability will only end in regret.
Today, of all days, let’s consider taking a moment to think about what James Halliday was trying to tell us. Perhaps log off, get some fresh air, and go tell someone you care about them.
If not, gg and I’ll see you in Fortnite.
Written by
Kirsten Howard has paid their dues. Yes sir, the check is in the mail.