Two NFT Games Offloaded As Yuga Labs Aims To Liberate BAYC Team

Yuga Labs, the company responsible for the NFT series Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), has transferred the intellectual property rights for two of its games, HV-MTL and Legends of the Mara. This move aligns with their previously stated intention to refocus the company.

In a post dated April 17th, 2024, on X, Yuga Labs announced that Faraway, a Web3 gaming studio, had acquired the IP. Additionally, Spencer Tucker, the Chief Gaming Officer for Yuga Labs, will join Faraway as the new chief product officer to ensure continuity between the games at the new company.

Time For Change

HV-MTL is an NFT-focused mech game where players manage and upgrade their NFTs and local environments. On the other hand, Legends of the Mara is an adventure game integrated into the Otherside metaverse, which was launched on April 30th, 2022.

Yuga Labs and Faraway have had a close working relationship, with Faraway previously developing a game themed around the Mutant Ape Yacht Club called Serum City. The decision by Yuga to transfer its gaming IP to Faraway reflects a broader effort to liberate the team, which was initiated when co-founder Greg Solano returned to Yuga and replaced Daniel Allegre as CEO in February of this year.

NFTs Continue To Struggle

The announcement coincides with a general downturn in NFTs across the market, with the flagship BAYC collection being one of the hardest hit among top NFT collections. At the time of writing, the floor price of the BAYC collection is 11.7 Ether (ETH), equivalent to about $35,400 at current prices. This represents a significant decrease of 92% compared to its all-time high floor price of 153.7 ETH, recorded on May 1st, 2022.

Earlier this year, Yuga Labs caused controversy among NFT holders and community members on January 7th when it announced the acquisition of the controversial Moonbirds collection and the appointment of Kevin Rose, the creator of the project, as an advisor.