Yuga Labs, the creator of Bored Ape Yacht Club and Otherside has announced the hiring of Mike Seavers, a game industry veteran, as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Seavers has previously worked with Riot Games and Epic Games, where he played a key role in product development across various platforms, including League of Legends, Fortnite, and Valorant. His appointment comes four months after Yuga Labs appointed Daniel Alegre, the former President and COO of Activision, as its new CEO.
Seavers will replace the current CTO in May
Seavers will replace current CTO Kerem Atalay, who will take on an advisory role once Seavers joins on May 22. Seavers expressed his excitement about joining Yuga Labs and its vision for the future of the internet. Yuga Labs aims to be the Web3 platform at the forefront of community and social engagement through media and entertainment.
The move marks another significant step by Yuga Labs to expand its gaming push and bring metaverse hype to reality. Its Otherside metaverse game has been a hit among players, with roughly $322 million in total volume traded in the past six months alone, and nearly $1.25 billion worth since last year’s drop, according to CryptoSlam.
Yuga’s NFT ecosystem, which includes the Bored Apes, Mutant Apes, CryptoPunks, Meebits, and Otherdeeds, to name a few, accounted for nearly 35% of all NFT sales volume from October 2022 through March 2023, according to a recent DappRadar report.
Yuga Labs hopes to scale up with the new appointment
Seavers’ hiring is expected to help Yuga Labs scale up and achieve its vision. Alegre mentioned that Seavers has a proven track record of taking organizations to the next level and shares Yuga’s vision of the importance of digital identity and community for the future of the internet.
As Yuga Labs expands further into gaming, it remains a significant player in the NFT ecosystem. Its various NFT collections make up a substantial percentage of the total NFT ecosystem by market cap. In addition, ApeCoin has become the most popular gaming-related cryptocurrency, with a market cap of $1.48 billion.
Overall, Yuga Labs has set itself apart in the NFT space by creating a loyal and dedicated community through its various collections and metaverse game. With the hiring of Seavers, the company is poised to further expand its gaming push and solidify its position as a leading player in the NFT ecosystem.
