What is the video game in 3 Body Problem? Mysterious headset explained

A mysterious and convoluted video game is central to the plot of 3 Body Problem on Netflix, but how does it work and who created it? Here’s everything we know.

Throughout the course of 3 Body Problem, we see various characters interact with a mysterious device. A headset with no buttons or discernable features somehow transports its wearers into another universe.

But how exactly does this advanced technology work? Who created it and how is it being sent to select individuals around the globe? What’s the real purpose of it all?

The mystery can leave you with more questions than answers. So here’s a full rundown of everything we know about the video game in Netflix‘s 3 Body Problem.

It goes without saying, but spoiler warning from this point on. We will be discussing key story beats from Season 1, though we will not be delving into spoilers from the novels.

What is the video game in 3 Body Problem?

The video game is essentially a human-friendly look at the 3 Body Problem itself.

We first learn of the mysterious headset when Jin is handed Vera’s after her suicide. “Where’s the rest of it?” she questions, the bizarre device unlike anything we humans have seen prior.

Eventually succumbing to the intrigue and putting the headset on, Jin is transported to a virtual world where she meets the Count of the West and his Follower. These non-player characters (NPCs) ask her to be their hero while revealing the objective of the game: “To solve the riddle of this world.”

The planets represented in the video game space are divided into Stable and Chaotic eras. During Stable eras, life can prosper and civilization can advance. Though in Chaotic eras, cataclysmic events can wipe out all life in a matter of moments. However, the human-presenting species in the game has a way of surviving.

Characters in the game world are able to dehydrate their bodies, essentially devolving into a near-weightless sack. In doing so, millions can be carried and stored much more easily and eventually rehydrated once a new Stable era takes hold. “If one of us survives, we all survive.”

So the purpose of the game, at least as it’s presented, is for human players to solve the 3 Body Problem plaguing the world, predicting the pattern of Stable and Chaotic eras so that civilization can prepare for the worst while advancing during the golden years.

Far easier said than done, most human players have been recruited by design. Many of Earth’s leading scientists are engaging with the game, testing their theories and hoping to solve the ultimate, planet-destroying riddle. However, as we quickly learn, there’s far more to the video game than meets the eye.

What is the true purpose of the video game?

The true purpose of the video game in 3 Body Problem is for the ominous alien race, known as the San-Ti, to “share their story” with us humans.

Fearing the worst as a Chaotic era looks to destroy their home planet, the San-Ti claim they have been left no choice but to head to the stars. “When you know your planet is doomed, what is the solution? Flee,” Sophon explains in Season 1. “Our only chance of survival lies elsewhere.”

Fleeing their unstable three-body star system four light years away, the San-Ti created the extraordinarily advanced headsets and the shockingly immersive video game to give humans an understanding of why they’re abandoning their home.

Assisting the San-Ti in numerous ways is Mark Evans and his crew aboard the Judgement Day ship. Together they select Earth’s leading scientists to be “invited” to the game and sent a headset. Every step of the way, they’re monitoring progress while communicating with their “lord.”

“While you’re playing the game, someone else on the other end is playing you… It’s a recruitment tool,” Wade argued. “They’re going after our best and brightest.”

Inviting the most successful players to a summit, we learn a vast majority are being recruited into a cause sympathetic to the San-Ti and their crisis. Some want to facilitate their arrival in hopes of a peaceful coexistence. Others want to help them eliminate the human race.

3 Body Problem is now available to stream on Netflix. Read our review, find out more about the cast, whether you need to read the books before, and catch up with other amazing TV shows to stream this month.