Orange Cap Games has officially acquired the Moonbirds NFT intellectual property from Yuga Labs, a major Web3 company. This move continues Yuga Labs’ recent trend of shifting focus toward its flagship Bored Ape Yacht Club and Otherside metaverse projects.
Yuga Labs, known for acquiring Moonbirds and its original creator Proof in early 2024, held ownership for just over a year. Kevin Rose, founder of Proof and a venture capitalist, previously guided the Moonbirds ecosystem before Yuga Labs took control. Proof raised nearly $60 million to develop crypto-based content, digital assets, and community events around Moonbirds.
The startup acquiring the IP, Orange Cap Games, specializes in both physical and digital trading card games. Their first title, Vibes TCG, themed around Pudgy Penguins, launched on the Ethereum layer-2 platform Abstract. Spencer Gordon-Sand, CEO of Orange Cap Games, leads the team now responsible for Moonbirds’ future growth and creative direction.
Orange cap games plans Moonbirds future
Orange Cap Games has not yet announced specific plans for Moonbirds or its related NFT lines, including the Mythics and Oddities collections. However, the company stated that future assets would be minted either on a layer-1 blockchain or ApeChain, an Ethereum layer-2 network developed with support from Yuga Labs.
This sale marks Yuga Labs’ third major NFT IP divestment in 2025, following earlier deals involving the Meebits and CryptoPunks properties. In February, Yuga transferred the Meebits IP to The Meebit Company, a new venture. In May, the CryptoPunks collection moved to the nonprofit Infinite Node Foundation, which supports digital art and innovation.
Moonbirds originally launched in April 2022, drawing $280 million in sales within its opening weekend. The collection quickly gained attention, but the broader NFT market slowdown later caused difficulties for Proof. Orange Cap Games now holds the responsibility of rejuvenating the brand while Yuga Labs strengthens its primary ecosystem.
