Yuga Labs, known for its Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFT collection, has sold off the intellectual property for two games, HV-MTL and Legends of the Mara, to streamline its operations.

In a recent announcement on April 17, Yuga Labs revealed that Faraway, a Web3 gaming studio, had acquired the IP for the games. The transition also involves Spencer Tucker, the chief gaming officer at Yuga Labs, joining Faraway as the new chief product officer to maintain consistency in the games.

HV-MTL is an NFT-centric 'mech' game where players upgrade their NFTs and the surrounding environments, while Legends of the Mara is an adventure game linked to the Otherside metaverse, launched on April 30, 2022.

Yuga Labs and Faraway have collaborated in the past, with Faraway previously developing Serum City, a Mutant Ape Yacht Club-inspired game. This strategic decision reflects Yuga's broader plan to empower the BAYC team by allowing them more autonomy to fulfill their vision, as explained by co-founder Greg Solano in a post in February after reassuming the role of CEO.

On the financial side, the announcement comes at a time when the NFT market is witnessing a downward trend, with the BAYC floor price dropping significantly. Currently, the floor price of the BAYC collection is 11.7 Ether (ETH) or roughly $35,400, down by 92% from its peak value of 153.7 ETH on May 1, 2022.

Yuga Labs faced criticism earlier this year for its decision to acquire the Moonbirds collection and appoint Kevin Rose, the creator of the project, as an advisor, which sparked controversy among NFT community members.