Forever 21 Shop City

Forever 21 has partnered with the metaverse creation company, Virtual Brand Group, to create a unique fashion retail experience on Roblox, known as Forever 21 Shop City. This venture allows players to operate their own custom virtual fashion stores inside the Roblox metaverse, which has millions of daily active users.

The Forever 21 Shop City experience is designed to enable users, fashion influencers, and creative world builders to own, manage, and customize their personal stores. Players will be able to buy and sell Forever 21 merchandise, including accessories and clothing, and hire non-player characters as store employees. The immersive experience extends to stocking inventory, working different jobs, assisting customers, operating the cash register, hiring employees, and decorating storefront windows.

Players begin with a ready-to-be-customized glass store, earning points as they build their store to expand and add additional features, including personalized exteriors and thematic styles such as Cottage Core, FutureScape, Cyber Punk, Eco-Urban, and Malibu Mansion. Simultaneously, as Forever 21 releases new collections in their physical and e-commerce stores, Forever 21 Shop City will offer the same merchandise for the players' store or their Roblox avatar.

Furthermore, the Forever 21 Shop City is divided into four themed districts including entertainment, obstacle course, food court, and yellow carpet, where users can role play, meet friends, discover rare items and build their community. Renowned Roblox influencers such as KrystinPlays, Shaylo, and the Sopo Squad have personally designed stores in Forever 21 Shop City.

This metaverse project aims to improve customer shopping experiences, expand the brand’s reach, and foster the connection between fashion and culture in a forward-thinking model. The Virtual Brand Group’s CEO, Justin Hochberg, sees this integration as a transformative innovation, creating substantial business opportunities for brands in the digital age.

However, roblox user are not having it — Jack Beardslee, a 17-year-old avid Roblox user, tells Input he’s not impressed. Beardslee criticizes the game’s perspective, noting that “the camera kept twisting, making it difficult to see what you were doing.” Others agree that the experience wasn’t user-friendly and comment that the obby (obstacle course) was too easy to be fun.

Gabe Thomison, 18, calls the game “uninteresting, given that it’s so generic and pushy with the brand.”

Sam Harvey, 17, believes the experience was “pumped out cheaply.” He adds, “Feels more akin to a chore than a game at the start.

“The game looks alright, but the gameplay from the start is bland,” Harvey continues. “Sell clothes, answer questions, run all the way to the Forever 21 building to pick up more clothes, rinse and repeat. If they maybe had more customization at the start, easier menus to navigate, and some personality, then this game could be decent.”