In April this year, Blackpink made music history when it became the first Korean pop group to headline Coachella. Now the world-renowned band is making Web3 headlines with the announcement of a virtual space for fans in the Roblox gaming metaverse.
The band’s new experience in Roblox, ‘Blackpink: The Palace,‘ will be a permanent addition to the virtual online game with over 214 active monthly users. Fans — known as Blinks — will have an interactive space to enjoy and celebrate Blackpink’s music in Roblox’s dedicated fan hub.
Fans can also take pictures with the avatars of the band members, Jennie, Jisoo, Rosé and Lisa, participate in games and in-game experiences, and purchase custom emotes and wearables for their avatars. New challenges will be added throughout the year that will reward players with Robux, Roblox’s native currency.
According to the report, Blackpink: The Palace was developed by the British studio Karta, and is set to launch on August 25th. Fans who visit within the first 24 hours of its launch will receive a unique badge for their Roblox profile.
The Head of IPX Division at YG Plus, Hyojung Lee, released a statement saying that fans all over the world can “party, connect, and experience everything Blackpink” in the new virtual space.
Blackpink is no stranger to Web3. Their collaboration with PUBG Mobile, a battle royale shooter game, won the “Best Metaverse Performance” award at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards.
Though Blackpink may be the most popular band at the moment, it isn’t the first K-Pop group to enter Roblox. Last year, Stray Kids and Sunmi participated in the debut of ‘Roblox Island,‘ and this year, Roblox hosted an in-game concert from the K-Pop boy band NCT 127.
Music Takes Center Stage in Roblox
K-Pop fans should be excited for the debut of Blackpink’s new metaverse world in Roblox. And if they’re fans of other styles of music, there will be plenty more tunes to choose from in the popular gaming world. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve covered several stories about Roblox collaborating with musicians and record labels to bring music to the metaverse. Here are the top stories.
First, about seven months ago, Warner Music Group (WMG) partnered with Gamefam for a new Roblox metaverse space focused on music and gaming. ‘Rhythm City’ mixes music and gaming into a 3D experience and comes with mini-music challenges and virtual concerts.
Next, in February, the National Football League held its first virtual concert for the Super Bowl in Roblox. The concert featured hip-hop star Saweetie and took place in WMG’s Rhythm City. During the Super Bowl on February 10th, the concert was replayed every hour on the hour in Roblox.
Finally, about a year ago, streaming giant Spotify opened a virtual space called Spotify Island in Roblox. The space lets users create music, socialize, and have access to limited merchandise from artists.
Only time will tell if Blackpink: The Palace will be a success. But considering how popular Blackpink is around the world and the sheer number of Roblox users, we’re betting there’s a good chance it will be.