• by Aaron Baar , March 26, 2010

GameStop is moving into the world of online (and social gaming), offering customers a chance to join a free-to-play program involving the "Legends of Zork" online game.

The promotion, which requires customers to pick up and register a free promotional card at a GameStop location, is the first for the company since it acquired online game (and "Legends of Zork") developer Jolt Online last year.

"We're effectively their online gaming arm," Jolt founder and CEO Dylan Collins tells Marketing Daily. "This is the first partnership for us using that."

The limited registration cards will only be available to GameStop customers, and allow access to an exclusive in-game avatar. Customers who register their cards to play the game will also be entered in a sweepstakes to win a year of free video games.

Social and online gaming is a growing sector that lures both avid and novice gamers because of simple game play, their social nature and relative low time commitment, Collins says. "Players and gamers browse the Internet regardless of their console, and this gives them something to do for 10-15 minutes while they're online," he says. "The great thing is it doesn't cannibalize [console gaming]."

This being the first venture of the two companies since coming together, they will be closely watching player rate and information to help in further opportunities. "By the end of the campaign, we would expect to have a large community of players," Collins says. "We will continue working with publishers and IP holders to develop their properties for the free-to-play market, and then leverage GameStop's global retail footprint to offer those games as exclusive content to customers."