Lotte Caliverse Will Get Infrastructure Support From Layer 2 Arbitrum

Lotte Group, the fifth-largest conglomerate in South Korea, has received the largest developer grant in Arbitrum’s history for integrating blockchain technology into its upcoming metaverse platform called Lotte Caliverse.

According to CoinDesk, although the grant amount has not been disclosed, the deal is a strong indication of a big move in the convergence between traditional business and blockchain technology.

Unveiled at CES 2025, Lotte Caliverse is an AI-driven 3D entertainment platform positioned to offer metaverse-like experiences. Built on Arbitrum, a popular Layer 2 Ethereum blockchain, the platform features a suite of well-known brands such as Givenchy, MCM, and L’Occitane, with Lotte’s subsidiaries like Lotte Duty-Free and Lotte Cinema.

Powered by Unreal Engine 5, Lotte Caliverse will let users do everything from virtual shopping to attending live concerts featuring virtual stars such as NMIXX and DJ Alok. It will include interactive experiences in the form of dance battles, among others, and the newly announced “Caliverse: Invasion”, where players will go up against Alien Invaders. Creators will be able to make their own games within the universe with updates in due course.

This deal will introduce Arbitrum to integrate cryptocurrency payments into conventional business models. It was expected because the metaverse concept that was highly hyped a few years ago had its steam taken away by the recent downtrends in the crypto world. Lotte has continued making forays into metaverse-related products since 2022, and last year, it announced a strategic partnership with Arbitrum.