South Korea’s Lotte Group Partners With Arbitrum to Power AI-Driven Metaverse Platform Caliverse

CES 2025: Lotte Caliverse to Integrate Arbitrum for Enhanced Metaverse Experiences

South Korea's Lotte Group has partnered with Arbitrum, the largest Ethereum Layer-2 network, to power its AI-driven metaverse platform, Lotte Caliverse. The collaboration was announced during CES 2025 in Las Vegas.

Lotte Caliverse, which was launched in 2024, serves as a hub for exploring emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and blockchain. The platform offers users an immersive 3D environment where they can participate in virtual shopping, attend live concerts, play interactive games, and engage with branded content from global names like 7-Eleven and Tomorrowland.

With the integration of Arbitrum's blockchain, Lotte Caliverse will enable crypto payments and on-chain in-game transactions, elevating the user experience. Arbitrum's industry-leading 250ms block times make it an ideal choice for powering virtual environments and gaming applications.

“This partnership marks a home ground for high-quality performance,” said Steven Goldfeder, CEO of Offchain Labs, the developer behind Arbitrum, in a statement.

The integration will not only reduce latency but also provide a user-friendly experience, setting new standards for blockchain interactions within virtual worlds.

As part of this partnership, the Arbitrum Foundation has awarded Lotte its largest-ever developer grant, which will be paid out in ARB tokens. The foundation did not disclose the exact value of the grant.

“We are excited to announce our partnership with Arbitrum, a leading Layer-2 blockchain solution, to enhance the user experience on Lotte Caliverse,” said John Park, Head of Korea at the Arbitrum Foundation, in a statement. “This collaboration aligns with our shared vision of advancing blockchain-based virtual worlds, and we are proud to be working together to push the boundaries of innovation in the Web3 gaming and metaverse sectors.”

The collaboration also solidifies Arbitrum's position as a key player in the blockchain gaming space. In 2024, Arbitrum experienced a 72% year-over-year growth in gaming adoption and now hosts 119 game titles and 23 gaming-focused blockchains through its Orbit stack, a customizable toolkit that allows developers to create tailored blockchain solutions.

Lotte's venture into the metaverse began in 2022, with its partnership with Arbitrum being announced in 2024. By merging blockchain efficiency with its extensive retail and entertainment portfolio, Lotte aims to redefine virtual interactivity. As Caliverse evolves, its partnership with Arbitrum is expected to rekindle corporate interest in the metaverse, a concept that has seen fluctuating popularity in recent years.