Paris Hilton has accomplished much in her 42 years: she’s revolutionized reality television, redefined celebrity in the age of the internet, pioneered influencer culture, launched a successful career as a DJ, and played a key role in mainstreaming NFTs.
One thing she hasn’t managed yet: making “sliving” happen.
The phrase, purportedly coined by Hilton in 2019, has a murky etymology: the hotel heiress has on some occasions referred to it as a portmanteau of “slaying” and “living,” and on others as a combination of “slay” and “killing it.”
Regardless of its meaning, Hilton has insisted for years now that “sliving” is the new “that’s hot,” and worked tirelessly in that period to shove the word into the cultural conversation. She rebranded her residence “Slivington Manner,” integrated “sliving” into Hilton Hotels’ marketing strategy, and trademarked the term for a variety of potential commercial uses including the creation and sale of butter dishes, flutes, salad bowls, and talcum powders.
For those concerned that such strategies haven’t yet seemed to stick, fear not: on Friday, the socialite announced “Slivingland,” a themed Roblox game world where users can, in her own words, “connect, create, and sliv together.”
Slivingland features virtual pet sidekicks, a “vibrant” nightclub, and music, podcasts, and other media sourced from brands with which Hilton has signed partnership agreements.
While a key perk of the virtual world appears to be the possibility of a chance encounter with Hilton’s animated avatar, some benefits are more tangible: Slivinglanders will be able to redeem one free Cheesy Gordita at Taco Bell—provided they are in the United States, join and access Hilton’s Discord by Sunday, and order at least $20 worth of other food.
Hilton also plans to celebrate the launch of Slivingland with a series of 10 limited-edition Roblox digital fashion pieces inspired by the styles of the year 2000. The collection, “Queen of Y2K,” will release over the next two months.
Hilton is no stranger to online worlds built in her image. She previously launched Parisland, a dating experience on metaverse platform The Sandbox, and prior to that, Paris World, another Roblox environment that featured a replica of her Beverly Hills “sliving” quarters and an accompanying dog mansion. Paris World currently boasts an average of three active daily players, according to metaverse analytics platform GEEIQ.
Whether Slvingland will match or exceed that degree of cultural imprint can’t yet be known. But therein lies the promise of the metaverse: if sliving doesn’t catch on in this world, or that one, there are always dozens more to try.
