Chipotle expands to the metaverse with a Roblox Halloween burrito giveaway

Chipotle Mexican Grill is the next big brand to venture beyond the limits of earthly marketing and into the vast metaverse.

For Halloween this year, the fast-casual chain is offering a free “boorito” to customers who visit their locations dressed in Halloween costumes, but with a cutting-edge twist: The costumes will be virtual and the restaurant is on Roblox.

Roblox, the wildly popular online gaming platform, is a digital universe in which avatars roam virtual territory partaking in most activities you can imagine—horseback riding, concert-going, working a job at a pizza parlor—all along with other players in a shared space. And Chipotle is the first restaurant to unveil a location within the platform. Starting Thursday through October 31, users can win a free (real-world) burrito coupon by completing the brand’s in-game quest.

Here’s how:

• Play between October 28 and 31, after 6:30 p.m. EST each day
• Dress your avatar in a Chipotle-themed virtual costume (Chip Bag Ghost, Burrito Mummy, Spicy Devil, Guacenstein, etc.)
• Show up at the virtual restaurant and check in at the cash register for the free burrito code. Only the first 30,000 visitors per day will succeed.
• Terms: Coupons valid for online orders only through November 14. One coupon per person
• Even if you don’t win the free burrito, everyone gets a $5 entree (burrito, bowl, salad, tacos) on Halloween, from 5pm til close, for online orders only with code BOORITO
• There’s also the Chipotle Boorito Maze, which you can play to win Roblox avatar accessories

With that, Chipotle furthers the fray of companies teaming up with massive multiplayer online games like Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite, all trying to stake a claim in the nascent metaverse—which is perhaps among the most intriguing new horizons to emerge this century. While brands like Nike, Gucci, and Hasbro have hitched their wagons to existing camps, Big Tech giants have begun building their own forays, with Facebook stating its ambition to dominate the field.

In gaming, Roblox boasts one of the biggest fan bases in the world; a recent public debut on the New York Stock Exchange (with share price up 20% year-to-date); and smash hit collaborations with rapper Lil Nas X, Netflix’s 80s-inspired touchstone Stranger Things, and skateboard-shoe company Vans. Per the latest stats, more than 43 million players log on every day.

“As a digital innovator, we are always experimenting to meet our guests where they are,” Chipotle’s marketing executive said in a statement. “Roblox’s popularity has boomed over the past year, and we know our fans will be excited to celebrate the next evolution of Boorito in the metaverse.”