Yuga Labs, known for several iconic web3 intellectual properties (IPs) is laying off a large portion of its staff and pivoting back to basics. The move hints at problems with web3 gaming branding.

Takeaways

  • Yuga Labs, owner of Bored Apes NFTs, is making significant organizational changes.
  • The company has laid off a large part of its staff and is scaling down its gaming initiatives.
  • Yuga Labs is refocusing its efforts on developing its metaverse, indicating a strategic pivot.
  • This shift highlights potential weaknesses in scaling web3 intellectual property (IP).
  • The pivot suggests that web3 IP struggles to resonate with the broader public.

Yuga Labs, known for owning the iconic Bored Apes NFTs and several other high-profile web3 branding, is undergoing significant changes. Recently, Yuga Labs has laid off a large portion of its staff and is winding down many of its gaming initiatives to refocus its efforts on developing its metaverse. This shift reveals some potential weaknesses in web3 IP as a tool to attract audiences.

Brand challenges

It’s clear from Yuga Labs pivot that web3 intellectual property (IP) has had a hard time scaling to a mainstream audience. The uniqueness of these IPs, even if significant in the web3 space, doesn’t resonate with the broader public, who may even be repelled by its web3 origins.

Yuga Labs’ pivot suggests an understanding of this. As the company prioritizes its web3 technology and metaverse, web3 game developers looking to go mainstream would do well to lean into building exciting and fun games that leverage web3 technology to create more compelling game economies – rather than focus on big web3 branding.

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