• by Colin Kirkland , December 26, 2023

On Tuesday, the South Korean girl group BLACKPINK will be performing in Meta's virtual reality (VR) gaming platform Horizon Worlds as part of the platform's ongoing attempt to attract users via its VR-exclusive concert series.

With over 84 million subscribers on their YouTube channel, BLACKPINK is a big pull for Meta. The “K-pop extravaganza” was filmed during the final sold-out show of the girl-group’s most recent world tour, which took place in Seoul, at the 16,000-seat Gocheok Sky Dome.

Through a Meta Quest VR headset, users can experience the 70-minute concert special, produced and directed by VR/XR video production company The Diamond Bros. in partnership with Meta, which says that the show was purposefully filmed to offer VR users the feeling of being immersed in the stadium’s front row.

Horizon World users can access the experience in the game's “Music Valley” world, where they can take part in a music-festival atmosphere, connecting and communicating with other users.

However, Meta has had trouble retaining users in its VR game. Last year, the tech giant announced its initial goal of hitting half-a-million monthly active users, but never amassed more than 300,000 users -- a number that has only dropped since last February.

Six months later, a YouTuber made headlines after he discovered that there were only 900 English-speaking people using the $36 billion metaverse platform. The tech giant has yet to release any official user numbers.

The ongoing Music Valley concert series is Meta's most recent attempt to attract a younger user base, which the company made a public goal earlier this year.

“Today our competitors are doing a much better job meeting the unique needs of these cohorts,” Gabriel Aul, Meta's vice president of Horizon Worlds, originally wrote in the memo, titled “Horizon 2023 Goals and Strategies.” “For Horizon to succeed we need to ensure that we serve this cohort first and foremost.”

While other leading metaverse gaming platforms like Roblox and Fortnite continue to launch virtual concert experiences with popular artists, Meta is trying to catch up, signing acts it knows are popular with younger demographics, like Jack Harlow, Jung Kook, The Kid Laroi, Victoria Monet, Jorja Smith, Alison Wonderland, Louis the Child and more.