// startup autopsy

Virtual Fairground

A virtual fairground with no visitors

timingSlow Death

Years-long decline before final shutdown · Fatal mistake: Entered the virtual worlds gaming market after the Second Life-driven hype peak had already passed, leaving insufficient demand for new platforms.

Founded	2008
Closed	2012
Country	Netherlands
Sector	Gaming

50%

Key Events Timeline

2008-01-01

FOUNDING

Virtual Fairground founded in the Netherlands to build online virtual world gaming experiences.

2009-06-01

FUNDING

Raised $4M to develop and market its virtual world gaming platform.

2010-06-01

LAYOFF

User growth plateaus as virtual world gaming loses mainstream appeal post-Second Life.

2011-06-01

LAYOFF

Monetization rates remain critically low; freemium model fails to convert players.

2012-03-01

SHUTDOWN

Virtual Fairground shuts down as funds are exhausted and user base declines.

Full Analysis

Analyst plan

Documented cause

Virtual Fairground, a Netherlands-based online virtual world gaming company, went bankrupt in 2011. The startup operated in the virtual worlds sector that emerged in the wake of Second Life's popularity. The co...

mpany failed due to multiple interconnected factors: cancelled projects that drained resources without generating revenue, and critically, a disappointing number of visitors to its Club platform, indi

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€8M

Peak valuation

HypeCycle · MoatType · ResearchTags

Virtual Fairground raised €4M before entered the virtual worlds gaming market after the second life-driven hype peak had already passed, leaving insufficient demand for new platforms. ended it. See the documented cause, verified lesson and all failure signals.

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