Yuga Labs hires top gaming executives, Mike Seavers and Daniel Alegre, to develop the innovative Otherside metaverse game and strengthen its position in the NFT ecosystem.
Yuga Labs, the renowned $4 billion startup responsible for the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), is bolstering its team in preparation for its ambitious Otherside metaverse game launch. Mike Seavers, a former leader at both Riot Games and Epic Games, recently joined the company as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). This move follows the appointment of former Activision President and COO Daniel Alegre as Yuga Labs’ CEO just four months prior.
New CTO Joins Yuga Labs
Mike Seavers, a highly regarded veteran in the gaming industry, is set to commence his new role as CTO at Yuga Labs on May 22. Seavers’ impressive track record includes a seven-year stint at Riot Games, where he contributed significantly to the engineering and technology divisions and ultimately held the title of CTO. While at Riot, Seavers played a pivotal role in the development of blockbuster games such as League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra, and Valorant.
I’m beyond excited for Mike Seavers to succeed me as CTO at Yuga Labs. I have complete confidence in Mike and believe he is the right person to scale the Yuga engineering org to deliver on our ever-growing ambitions as a company. It has been an immense privilege to watch Yuga… https://t.co/8WRNRv1eQQ
— EmperorTomatoKetchup (Kerem Atalay) (@TomatoBAYC) April 28, 2023
Seavers then took the helm as CEO of game tech startup AppOnboard, which successfully raised $20 million in Series C funding for the Buildbox game engine. Subsequently, he joined Epic Games as the Executive Vice President of Development, where he served for just under two years. In this position, Seavers managed product development across Epic Games’ platforms and led the engineering team behind the massively popular Fortnite.
As Seavers steps into the CTO role, current Yuga Labs CTO Kerem Atalay will transition to an advisory capacity.
Yuga Labs Committed to Gaming Expansion
By bringing Mike Seavers on board, Yuga Labs demonstrates its dedication to its gaming initiatives. The company strives to ensure that its upcoming Otherside metaverse game becomes a massive hit, despite the declining enthusiasm surrounding metaverse ventures. Otherside, conceived as a social MMORPG, will enable players to participate in quests and immerse themselves in a captivating 3D environment.
0/ One of the most awaited titles of the #blockchaingaming scene is @OthersideMeta
From the most disputed mint in history to the upcoming Legends of the Mara, this 🧵 will cover everything there is to know about @yugalabs’ #metaverse.
‘Where the swamp ends, Otherside begins’👇 pic.twitter.com/gLRfDYMuD2
— The Kingdom (@TheKingdomWrld) April 23, 2023
Seavers’ extensive expertise and proven ability to elevate organizations will undoubtedly contribute to Yuga Labs’ expansion. According to Daniel Alegre, Seavers aligns with the company’s vision regarding the crucial role of digital identity and community in shaping the future of the internet. By leveraging Seavers’ skills, Yuga Labs aims to establish itself as the premier Web3 platform for community and social engagement through media and entertainment.
Yuga Labs Dominance in the NFT Ecosystem
As Yuga Labs forges ahead with its gaming ventures, it’s crucial to recognize the company’s substantial contributions to the overall NFT ecosystem’s market cap through its array of NFT collections. A recent DappRadar report disclosed that Yuga’s NFT ecosystem, which encompasses Bored Apes, Mutant Apes, CryptoPunks, Meebits, and Otherdeeds, constituted nearly 35% of all NFT sales volume from October 2022 through March 2023.
Yuga Labs’ Otherside metaverse game has emerged as the most successful “metaverse” NFT collection to date, with an impressive $322 million in total volume traded within the past six months alone. Since its debut last year, the collection’s worth has surged to almost $1.25 billion (as reported by CryptoSlam). In addition, ApeCoin has solidified its status as the most popular gaming-related cryptocurrency, with a staggering $1.48 billion market cap.
BAYC Founders Share Insights on Yuga Labs’ Future
In a recent episode of the gm podcast, Bored Ape Yacht Club co-founders Wylie Aronow (known as “Gordon Goner”) and Greg Solano (known as “Garga”) joined Dan Roberts and Kate Irwin to discuss various aspects of Yuga Labs’ future. They covered the company’s size and influence in the NFT space, and touched on topics such as Ape haters, NFT skeptics, the SEC investigating Yuga, Buzzfeed “doxxing” Aronow and Solano earlier this year, and their vision for the Otherside metaverse realm.
Anticipating the Otherside Metaverse Game
Yuga Labs’ ambitious Otherside metaverse project aims to create a unique and immersive experience for players, and the company’s strategic hires are crucial to this endeavor. By bringing in experienced gaming industry professionals like Mike Seavers and Daniel Alegre, Yuga Labs is well-positioned to develop an innovative metaverse game that captures the imagination of its audience.
Otherside’s social MMORPG format will allow players to forge their own paths in a 3D world, filled with quests and opportunities for exploration. This new metaverse experience is expected to revolutionize the gaming landscape by seamlessly integrating digital identity, community, and social engagement.
The Future of Yuga Labs and the NFT Market
As Yuga Labs continues to build on its successes in the NFT market, the company is poised to expand its reach and solidify its influence in the rapidly evolving digital landscape. The upcoming launch of the Otherside metaverse game is just one of the many exciting ventures that Yuga Labs is exploring.
With a talented and experienced team in place, Yuga Labs is likely to continue pushing the boundaries of innovation in the gaming industry and the NFT market. The company’s ongoing commitment to fostering digital identity and community engagement will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on the future of the internet and the Web3 platform.
