Named “Blackpink: The Palace,” this virtual experience will become a permanent feature within Roblox, offering fans (referred to as Blinks) an interactive space to celebrate the band’s music and partake in recreating their iconic dance routines.
In “Blackpink: The Palace,” fans will have the opportunity to take pictures alongside avatars of Blackpink members—Jennie, Lisa, Jisoo, and Rosé. Moreover, users can purchase custom outfits and emotes for their own avatars, as well as enhance their in-game items by collecting crystals through a hammer-like “lightstick” action, reminiscent of the light-up items fans carry at concerts.
Scheduled for an August 25 launch, the Blackpink-themed Roblox world is a creation of the British studio Karta. During the initial 24 hours of the release, fans who explore this virtual universe will earn a unique badge for their Roblox profile.
Hyojung Lee, Head of IPX Division at YG Plus, expressed enthusiasm for the virtual endeavor: “We look forward to welcoming fans from all over the world to a beautiful virtual palace where they can party, connect, and experience everything Blackpink beyond the constraints of time and space.”
This is not Roblox’s first foray into K-pop territory. Earlier this year, the platform hosted an in-game concert featuring K-pop boy band NCT 127. In 2022, K-pop luminaries Stray Kids and Sunmi played roles in launching Spotify’s official Roblox Island, offering meet-and-greet opportunities, music production tools, and virtual merchandise.
Blackpink’s engagement with the metaverse extends beyond Roblox. The group secured the inaugural “Best Metaverse Performance” award at the 2022 MTV VMAs for their collaboration with the popular battle royale shooter, PUBG Mobile. Additionally, Blackpink has collaborated with the South Korean metaverse platform Zepeto, which is poised to enter the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) through its ZTX platform on the Ethereum scaling network, Arbitrum.
The widespread adoption of K-pop in metaverse landscapes follows a wave of global virtual concerts during the pandemic. Popular groups like BTS and Twice capitalized on this trend, reaching a global online audience through platforms like Minecraft and Fortnite.
The South Korean government’s investment of $170 million in metaverse development in 2022 further underscores the growing synergy between K-pop and the virtual realm.
Transitioning into the metaverse is not unfamiliar for K-pop enthusiasts. Aespa, another South Korean group, has integrated virtual counterparts of each member for music videos and metaverse performances.
Earlier this year, Korean entity Kakao Entertainment partnered with mobile gaming giant Netmarble to create a digital K-pop band named Mave, which interacts with fans in the physical world through AI technologies. Mave’s debut track “Pandora” garnered nearly 4 million views on YouTube.
