Yuga Labs offloads 2 NFT games amid effort to 'unshackle' BAYC team

Yuga Labs has sold off the intellectual property rights of two of its games to Web3 gaming firm Faraway.

Yuga Labs — the firm behind NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) — has offloaded the intellectual property for two of its games, HV-MTL and Legends of the Mara, in line with a previously announced effort to refocus the organization. 

In an April 17 post to X, Yuga Labs announced that Web3 gaming studio Faraway had acquired the IP, adding that its chief gaming officer Spencer Tucker would join Faraway as the new chief product officer in a bid to ensure continuity between the games at the new firm.

HV-MTL is an NFT-oriented ‘mech’ game where players manage and level up their NFTs as well as local environments. Meanwhile, Legends of the Mara is an adventure game that functions as part of the Otherside metaverse, which was launched on April 30, 2022.

Yuga Labs and Faraway have worked closely together for some time, with Faraway previously developing a Mutant Ape Yacht Club-themed game called Serum City.

Yuga’s move to hand over its gaming IP to Faraway reflects a broader move to “unshackle” the team, which was introduced when co-founder Greg Solano rejoined Yuga and replaced Daniel Allegre as the company’s CEO in February this year.

“We want to unshackle the BAYC team at Yuga as much as possible to execute against its vision. More focus, more agility,” Solana wrote in a Feb. 22 post to X that announced his return to the organization.

Related: Bored Ape NFT floor price hits lowest point in over two and a half years

Wednesday’s announcement comes as NFTs experience a broader downtrend across the market, with its flagship BAYC collection being among the hardest hit of top NFT collections.

As of the time of publication, the floor price of the BAYC collection stands at 11.7 Ether (ETH) — worth $35,400 at current prices. The floor price is down a staggering 92% from its all-time high floor price of 153.7 ETH, notched on May 1, 2022.

Earlier this year, Yuga Labs sparked outrage among holders and members of the NFT community on Jan. 7 when announced it would be acquiring the controversial Moonbirds collection and bringing on the project’s creator Kevin Rose as an adviser.