Gaming Startup Acquires Moonbirds NFT IP
Yuga Labs’ Strategic Shift
Orange Cap Games, a startup specializing in digital and physical trading card games, has acquired the Moonbirds NFT intellectual property (IP) from the creators behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club, Yuga Labs.
This follows Yuga Labs’ acquisition of the Moonbirds IP (alongside creator Proof) in early 2024. The sale confirms Yuga Labs’ strategy to refocus its resources on the Bored Ape Yacht Club, the Otherside metaverse, and related projects.
TTTerms of the Deal & Future Plans
Yuga Labs announced the sale but declined to disclose the deal’s specifics when reached by Decrypt.
Orange Cap Games has yet to detail its concrete plans for the Moonbirds IP, which includes the Mythics and Oddities collections. The studio previously stated its intention to release any future on-chain Moonbirds assets either on a layer-1 chain or the Yuga-linked ApeChain (an Ethereum layer-2 network).
Furthermore, Moonbird characters are slated to appear within Yuga Labs’ long-developed Otherside initiative.
Context: Previous Divestitures
This acquisition marks the latest departure from Yuga Labs’ portfolio of previously acquired NFT projects this year. Earlier actions included selling the Meebits IP in February 2024 and transferring the influential CryptoPunks IP to the Infinite Node Foundation earlier this month.
Yuga Labs’ co-founder and CEO, Greg “Garga” Solano, praised Orange Cap Games, tweeting: “Spencer [Gordon-Sand, CEO] and the team at Orange Cap Games are among the smartest, most detail-oriented builders… Moonbirds deserve a team whose whole world is the birds…”
Background: The Moonbirds IP
The original Moonbirds NFT collection launched on Ethereum in April 2022. The initial launch saw immense demand, generating $280 million in primary and secondary sales across the first weekend.
Initially created by Proof (led by Kevin Rose, co-founder of Digg and venture capitalist), the Moonbirds IP raised approximately $60 million in funding. However, growing collector pushback contributed to Proof ultimately selling the rights to Yuga Labs in February 2024, a year after the IP was first acquired.
