Yuga Labs has recently sold the intellectual property rights to the Moonbirds NFT collection to a new player in the crypto gaming space—Orange Cap Games.
Announced on Friday, the deal marks Yuga Labs’ third major divestment of a high-profile NFT collection in 2025, following the sales of CryptoPunks and Meebits earlier this year.
Whilst financial terms were not disclosed, the sale signals a continued shift in strategy at Yuga Labs as it narrows its focus to its core offerings, including its flagship Bored Ape brand and the long-awaited Otherside metaverse game.
Source: Greg Solana (X)Why is Yuga Labs selling Moonbirds?
Yuga Labs acquired Moonbirds as part of its purchase of Proof in February 2024, at a time when the NFT market was still in recovery after a steep decline. The deal was seen as an effort to consolidate promising NFT IP under one roof. Kevin Rose, co-founder of Proof and a prominent figure in web3, joined Yuga as an advisor following the acquisition.
However, in recent months, Yuga Labs has made clear that it intends to refocus its efforts on its original projects. In addition to Moonbirds, it has transferred control of both the Meebits and CryptoPunks IP, which were obtained from Larva Labs in 2022. These moves reflect an internal strategy shift prioritising development of the Bored Ape Yacht Club and Otherside, while moving away from managing outside collections.
The company said the Moonbirds brand would benefit from a team fully dedicated to it—something Yuga Labs could no longer provide.
Source: Orange Cap GamesWhat to expect from Orange Cap Games?
Orange Cap Games is a relatively new entrant to the crypto gaming scene, best known for Vibes TCG, a trading card game themed around Pudgy Penguins and launched on the Ethereum layer-2 network Abstract.
Although the company has yet to outline specific plans for Moonbirds, it has indicated that any future blockchain-based content will be launched on a layer-1 chain or on ApeChain, an Ethereum-based layer-2 network supported by Yuga Labs. The studio has not announced whether Moonbirds will be integrated into future games or adapted into other formats, such as collectibles or interactive media.
In a post on X, Yuga Labs CEO Greg Solano praised Orange Cap’s leadership, describing them as “smart” and “detail-oriented: builders, and suggested the studio would be a better long-term home for the project.
Source: MoonbirdsWhat’s next for Moonbirds?
Despite the transfer of ownership, Moonbirds characters are still expected to appear in Otherside, Yuga Labs’ long-running metaverse project that remains in active development.
Moonbirds launched in April 2022 with significant fanfare, generating over $280 million in primary and secondary trading within days. The collection was seen as a flagship project for Proof, which raised roughly $60 million in funding to build a broader ecosystem of content and events. However, as market interest waned in late 2022 and throughout 2023, Proof faced growing criticism from holders and ultimately sold the IP to Yuga Labs early the following year.
Now, under a new owner, Moonbirds IP—along with its affiliated Mythics and Oddities collections—will now be managed by Orange Cap Games, which has emerged as a developer of both digital and physical trading card games.
