Yuga Labs, the company behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, has laid off a portion of its staff according to a blog post published by the firm on Oct. 6.
The company’s CEO, Daniel Alegre, wrote:
“After … thoughtful consideration, I have decided that we need to restructure the Yuga Labs teams. The implication of these changes is that a number of roles have been eliminated across the company, impacting some of your colleagues.”
Alegre attributed the need for a shift in strategy to underwhelming launches in specific areas, particularly within the company’s gaming initiatives
Alegre revealed that, as part of the restructuring, Yuga Labs will delegate certain activities to external, third-party companies. Yuga Labs’ internal development teams, meanwhile, will focus on web3 efforts and Otherside — the company’s metaverse platform.
Allegre said elsewhere in his letter that the company will go in “all-in on [its] Otherside strategy.” He noted that Otherside will launch new gaming experiences in 2024 and will form long-term partnerships to complement Yuga Labs’ own efforts.
BAYC, CryptoPunks efforts will remain active
Alegre also commented on the status of certain high-profile products. He said that Bored Ape Yacht Club will expand a program called “Made by Apes”, which acts as a licensing model and community showcase for fan creations. Moreover, Alegre hinted at the launch of a gaming experience tied to the Bored Ape product line, slated for 2024.
Next, Allegre noted Yuga Labs will continue to manage CryptoPunks — an NFT series that Yuga Labs acquired in May 2022 — by “improving and streamlining” the Punks app. He indicated that a book about the NFT collection is still in progress.
While those two efforts will remain active, Alegre suggested that Yuga Labs will fold its Meebits and 10KTF teams into its Otherside team.
Yuga Labs did not describe any specific market or revenue trends leading to its staff reductions. However, activity in the NFT market has generally declined despite generating a record-breaking $55 billion in revenue in 2022. Despite Yuga Labs’ role in some of the largest NFT collections, it is unlikely that it has escaped this trend entirely.
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