2026 Audie Award Finalist - Science Fiction

IT’S TIME TO MORPH

In a grim, not-so-distant future, humanity is in crisis. A deadly pandemic has confined billions to their homes, leaving society completely isolated in their homes and utterly dependent on the mega-global Chum Corporation.

For some lucky beta testers, the only escape is to log into New Arcadia—a real-as-life role-playing game set in a gleaming 1990s-inspired city. There, they can enjoy the freedoms denied to them in the real world—like Prime Beta Tester John Chambers, who has reinvented himself in New Arcadia as street-fighting hero Blaze.

But John and his ragtag gang of friends have discovered that the virtual reality of New Arcadia was designed to be more than just entertainment. Secretly, the program is being used to test how effectively society can reintegrate once the pandemic restrictions are lifted. But a sinister Chum executive has plans to seize New Arcadia and shut everyone out forever.

John and his allies have found themselves abruptly kicked from the New Arcadia server. Now, this unlikely band of heroes must face their deadliest challenge yet—a perilous trek through the real-life dystopia of post-pandemic California, battling deadly drones and sinister Scummers in their desperate fight not just for freedom, but for the chance to rebuild society itself.

Then, back inside New Arcadia, they’ve got to climb the tallest tower and take out all of the bad guys. But first, they’ve got to put on a show. And maybe find love, too.

Starring

Eric Jason Martin (Heads Will Roll, StanLand)

Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Peacemaker)

Matthew Mercer (Critical Role)

Erika Ishii (Ghost of Yotei)

Sam Riegel (Critical Role)

Dave Fennoy (Fortnite)

Marin Ireland (Materialists)

January LaVoy (Law and Order)

Also Starring

Emily Woo Zeller (Cyberpunk 2077)

James Urbaniak (Venture Brothers)

Dana Snyder (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)

And Jason Narvy and Paul Schrier (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)

With Jon Gabrus, Scott Brick, Suzanne Elise Freeman, Travis Baldree, Jeff Hays, Jeff Gerstmann, Andy Merrill, Cynthia Farrell, Tom Lenk, Betsy Sodaro, Justin Michael, Neil Hellegers, P.J. Ochlan, Ramon DeOcampo, Rachel L. Jacobs, Justin Thomas James, Seth Allen, and Grover Gardner

Theme by Lloyd Cole

Original Soundtrack by Casey Trela

Post Production by Jake Young and Jaymeson Catsouphes

New Arcadia: Judgment Day is the witty and pulse-pounding conclusion of the Earphones Award-Winning and Audie Award-Nominated New Arcadia LitRPG trilogy by Eric Jason Martin—which blends the dystopian allure and nostalgic charm of Ready Player One with the sharp humor and intricate world-building of He Who Fights with Monsters.