Metaplace to Shutter Virtual World Creation Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 22, 2009 - 9:01am.

San Diego - Metaplace, a company that offered virtual world-building software, has announced plans to shut down after two years of operation, CNET News.com reported.

"Over the last several years, we here at Metaplace have been working very hard to create an open platform allowing anyone to come to a Web site and create a virtual world of their own," the company wrote in an email announcement.

"Unfortunately, over the last few months it has become apparent that Metaplace as a consumer (user-generated content) service is not gaining enough traction to be a viable product, requiring a strategic shift for our company."

San Diego-based Metaplace was founded in 2007 by Raph Koster, formerly chief creative officer as Sony Online Entertainment.

The company had raised over $9.4 million in venture capital financing, from backers including Charles River Ventures, Crescendo Ventures, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz.

http://www.metaplace.com