South Korean conglomerate Lotte Group has leveraged the Ethereum Layer 2 network Arbiturm to enhance its artificial intelligence-powered metaverse platform, Lotte Caliverse.
Announced at CES 2025, Arbitrum’s blockchain, with its 250ms block times, described by Steven Goldfeder, CEO of Arbitrum developer Offchain Labs, as the “ideal home for Caliverse,” enabling “high-end performance within virtual worlds and gaming experiences.”
Goldfeder added that the Arbitrum technology stack will provide users with a seamless and consumer-friendly experience, and “set a new standard for Arbitrum-based interactions in virtual worlds.”
The Lotte Caliverse was created in collaboration with gaming industry giants like Epic Games and uses technologies like the Unreal Engine 5. It offers a metaverse platform and offers experiences such as virtual shopping with real-world product deliveries, immersive K-Pop and electronic music concerts featuring stars like NMIXX and DJ ALOK, and interactive gaming experiences, including the recently announced “Caliverse: Invasion.”
The platform will feature brands from Lotte Group’s extensive portfolio, including Lotte Duty-Free, Lotte HiMart and Lotte Cinema, alongside globally recognized names such as Givenchy, MCM, L’Occitane, Fresh, 7-Eleven and world-renowned electronic music. festival, Tomorrowland.
Caliverse initially went live in August last year and is already available for users to experience, but the integration with Arbitrum will add crypto payments to the platform.
The latest development builds on Lotte Group’s strategic partnership with Arbitrum announced last year, positioning Arbitrum as the premier blockchain infrastructure provider for Caliverse.
As part of this growing partnership, Lotte is also expected to receive the largest ever grant in ARB tokens from the Arbitrum Foundation. This deal remains under discussion and has yet to be finalized, Arbitrum executives said.
Lotte Group has a history of exploring blockchain technology, having initially unveiled its metaverse development plans at CES 2023. That same year, the company partnered with Ethereum sidechain Polygon to expand its NFT initiatives.
Meanwhile, Arbitrum has steadily consolidated its position as a major player in Web3 gaming. Last month, the project launched Captain Laserhawk: The GAME, a multiplayer shooting game that uses blockchain to power Web3-based experiences.
In June 2024, the project unveiled a $215 million funding program to support game developers in an effort to advance the web3 gaming sector.
According to DappradarThe blockchain currently hosts more than 100 games, with the top games being CryptantCrab Prime, Zeeverse and Overtime Markets.
