Burrito Builder
Open the game- Brand
- Chipotle
- Year
- 2022
- Objective
- Loyalty
- Industry
- Food & Drink
- Mechanic
- Simulation & Strategy
- Platform
- In-Game
- Agency
- Foxtel Media
Objective
Chipotle wanted to reach Gen Z and Alpha on the platform where they already hang out, Roblox, and do it on National Burrito Day — the brand's biggest promo day of the year. Following its 2021 Halloween 'Boorito' giveaway, the goal was to close the loop between virtual play and a real purchase, making Chipotle the first restaurant to let players trade in-game currency for actual food.
Solution
The game teleports players back to 1993, dropping them behind the counter of Chipotle's original Denver restaurant in a '90s crew uniform. Working the line, players drag requested ingredients onto a tortilla as it slides past, then fold it with the arrow keys before the order timer runs out. Each burrito rolled correctly pays out 'Burrito Bucks,' and 100 of them buy a code for a free entrée on the Chipotle app or website. Between orders, players can unlock '90s-themed wearables, take on a delivery side quest, and climb a daily leaderboard for a shot at free burritos for a year.
Results
All 100,000 free-entrée codes were claimed within 30 minutes of launch, and the experience drew 1.1 million gameplays in its first 24 hours with 27,000 concurrent players, peaking at 25,918 concurrent users. Launch day ranked among Chipotle's top ten loyalty-enrollment days ever and was its highest promo-code redemption day on record. The experience has since drawn 38 million lifetime visits and 255,248 favorites, with an average session of 10.56 minutes. A later in-game event tied to the 'Unfolded' film premiere gave away 50,000 free burritos within an hour, peaking at 1,000 redemptions a minute, with all codes claimed on day one.
- 1
The player opens roblox.com/chipotle and spawns outside a '90s-styled recreation of Chipotle's original 1993 Denver restaurant; walking inside, a crew-member NPC at the counter asks them to make burritos for National Burrito Day and puts them in a Chipotle uniform (the default one, or an unlocked retro '90s version).
- 2
In the core loop, the player takes a spot on the serving line as customers step up and call out ingredients one at a time while an empty tortilla moves across the counter; the player drags each requested ingredient into place before time runs out, then rolls the finished burrito with a fixed arrow-key sequence (Left, Right, Up).
- 3
If the timer expires before the order is finished, the burrito is lost and the round ends, but the player can restart and attempt unlimited rounds; a completed burrito is handed off and pays out in Burrito Bucks, the experience's currency.
- 4
A side quest has the player carry a finished order out of the restaurant and deliver it to a house marked by a yellow zone within a time limit.
- 5
Burrito Bucks can be exchanged for a code redeemable for a real Chipotle entrée via the Chipotle app, Chipotle.com, or Chipotle.ca; during the launch promo, the first 100,000 players to roll a burrito received one.
- 6
As the player rolls more burritos, milestone counts unlock '90s-themed virtual wearables (items like Chipotle Guacman, Foil Fanny Pack, and Pepper Choker), which must be claimed manually through the Clothing menu rather than being auto-equipped.
- 7
Player scores feed a daily leaderboard; during the April 7–13, 2022 launch week, the top five US-resident finishers each day won free burritos for a year.
- 8
Later versions of the experience add ingredient card packs to collect — opening all 53 unlocks a free entrée or a Chipotle avatar item — and an in-world 'Carnitas Cinema' where the player can sit and watch Chipotle's animated short.
