Paris Hilton launches metaverse business on Roblox

Paris Hilton commands as much as $1 million a night working as a celebrity DJ, but this New Year’s Eve, she will be playing an electronic set at a venue of a different sort - her virtual island on Roblox.

Hilton created an island in the online virtual world, dubbed Paris World, where visitors can explore digital replicas of her Beverly Hills estate, stroll a boardwalk inspired by her wedding celebration at the Santa Monica Pier, and explore the island in a luxury sports car or Sunray yacht.

Like other virtual hangouts, Paris World will collect small payments for purchasing virtual clothing or booking a ride on a jet-ski.

“For me, the metaverse is somewhere that you can do everything you can do in real life in the digital world,” said Hilton, who worked to create aspects of her globe-trotting life for fans. 

“Not everybody gets to experience that, so that’s what we’ve been working together on over the past year - giving them all my inspirations of what I want in that world.”

Hilton, 40, joins a clutch of celebrities and brands rushing to embrace the metaverse, a broad term referring to a persistent virtual world. 

Brands such as Tommy Hilfiger brand launched a line of digital ready-to-wear fashion for Roblox avatars. 

Nike opened a virtual world called Nikeland in November, where visitors can play dodgeball with friends, lace on a pair of virtual Air Force 1 sneakers and win medals. 

Rappers Lil Nas X and Travis Scott have also held concerts last year for millions of virtual concertgoers.

Hilton has also tapped into the mania for non-fungible tokens, collaborating with designer Blake Kathryn to sell three unique pieces of digital art - one of which fetched in excess of $1.1 million. - Reuters