// startup autopsy

Aurora Feint

Built the mobile social gaming layer before the giants noticed — then got absorbed and deleted.

platform dependencyAcqui-hire

Fatal mistake: Built an entire social gaming network on Apple's iOS without sufficient independence from the platform, which was instantly threatened when Apple launched Game Center in 2010.

Founded	2008
Closed	2012
Country	USA
Sector	Gaming

50%

Key Events Timeline

2008-03-01

FOUNDING

Aurora Feint founded by Jason Citron and Danielle Cassley; launched an iOS puzzle game that included early social features.

2009-06-01

PIVOT

Pivoted from game developer to platform play, rebranding the social layer as OpenFeint and opening it to third-party developers.

2010-06-01

PRODUCT LAUNCH

Apple launched Game Center at WWDC 2010, directly threatening OpenFeint's value proposition by offering native social gaming infrastructure.

2011-04-01

ACQUISITION ATTEMPT

GREE acquired OpenFeint for approximately $104M, citing its 75 million users as a gateway to Western mobile gaming markets.

2012-12-14

SHUTDOWN

GREE shut down OpenFeint permanently, citing strategic realignment; users lost all achievements, friends, and progress stored on the platform.

Full Analysis

Analyst plan

Documented cause

Aurora Feint initially launched as an iOS game developer but pivoted to become OpenFeint, a social gaming network and platform for mobile games. The company achieved significant scale, reaching 75 million users...

and establishing itself as a major player in the mobile gaming ecosystem. However, in 2011, facing competitive pressures and platform consolidation in the mobile space, Aurora Feint was acquired by J

Verified lesson

“...”

Unlock full lesson →

€13.8M

Peak valuation

HypeCycle · MoatType · ResearchTags

Aurora Feint raised €7.66M before built an entire social gaming network on apple's ios without sufficient independence from the platform, which was instantly threatened when apple launched game center in 2010. ended it. See the documented cause, verified lesson and all failure signals.

Unlock full analysis →Create free account

See all plans·Analyst plan — €149/mo