Yuga Labs Sells Moonbirds NFT IP to Orange Cap Games in Major Strategy Shift

Anny Sam
June 1, 2025
12:00 am

Anny Sam

Anny is a skilled crypto writer, delivering clear, engaging content that simplifies complex blockchain concepts for a broad audience.

Yuga Labs sells Moonbirds NFT IP to Orange Cap Games.
This marks Yuga’s third major NFT IP sale in 2025.
The focus now shifts fully to Bored Ape and Otherside projects.

Yuga Labs, the creator of the iconic Bored Ape Yacht Club, has sold the Moonbirds NFT intellectual property (IP) to Orange Cap Games. This is the company’s third IP transfer this year. Yuga continues to offload side projects to sharpen its focus on core ventures.

BREAKING: @yugalabs has completed the sale of Moonbirds collection to @Ocapgames

This leaves Yuga Labs with the following:
– BAYC, MAYC, BAKC
– Otherside & Koda
– Tokenproof
– Twelvefold

This is in accordance with what Garga said: Yuga’s focus is BAYC, Otherside, & ApeChain pic.twitter.com/0aoUlvphWm
— JBond (@jbondwagon) May 30, 2025

Among these are the Bored Ape collection and its Otherside metaverse game. Details of the sale were not disclosed. But it does seem to imply a more unified biz model in the works. Earlier this year, Yuga sold Meebits to The Meebit Company and also transferred CryptoPunks to a nonprofit known as the Infinite Node Foundation.

All these steps are in line with a greater focus on the Otherside ecosystem and extensions of Bored Apes. Yuga Labs had only acquired Moonbirds and its creator, Proof, earlier in 2024. Now, that transient ownership wraps up with a transfer to an emerging player in crypto gaming.

Orange Cap Acquires Moonbirds from Yuga

The buyer is Orange Cap Games, a recently formed game development studio that focuses on the crossover between physical and digital experiences. The team recently launched a trading card game, Vibes TCG, which is based on Pudgy Penguins. The game makes use of Ethereum’s layer-2 network called Abstract.

Acquiring Moonbirds allows Orange Cap to further add a notable NFT collection to its portfolio. Assets from Moonbirds and their subsequent collections, Mythics and Oddities, have now come under its creative leadership. Although the company has not divulged any detailed plans, it has confirmed that future developments will be on-chain.

These assets can be used on Ethereum or ApeChain, which is an Ethereum-compatible layer-2 regulated by Yuga. A new owner is supposed to bring new energy and creative focus. It goes along with Yuga’s stated belief that Moonbirds need the full time care of a qualified team.

The Rise Fall and Revival of Moonbirds

The Moonbirds NFT collection came out on Ethereum in April 2022. It became an overnight sensation, making $280 million in sales during the first weekend. Proof, the original creator led by Kevin Rose, later raised $60 million to expand a broader content and events ecosystem.

That success was short-lived, though. The NFT market collapse in 2022 and the subsequent turbulence into early 2023 shook things up. Collectors spoke out. Momentum had stalled. Yuga Labs bought Proof and Moonbirds in early 2024, hoping to revitalize the brand with a fresh approach.

Rose became an advisor to Yuga after the deal. Moonbirds is up for sale again. With a new keeper installed, the collection heads into a new chapter. Meanwhile, Yuga doubles down on what it does best: world-building for the Bored Ape universe.