Activision Blizzard’s president becomes CEO of Yuga Labs. Here’s the 101
The Alpha:
- Yuga Labs, the Web3 behemoth behind Bored Ape Yacht Club and Otherside, recently announced the appointment of Activision Blizzard President and COO Daniel Alegre as its new CEO, according to a press release shared with nft now.
- Alegre, whose term as CEO begins in the first half of 2023, succeeds Nicole Muniz, who will continue as both a partner and strategic advisor to the organization. The former Blizzard executive will work closely with Yuga Labs founders Wylie Aronow and Greg Solano to further expand the company’s presence in and beyond the Web3 world.
- Alegre brings a wealth of experience to Yuga Labs, having overseen the international delivery of franchisees such as Duty calls, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Overwatchand Candy crush. He also spent more than 16 years at Google, serving as the company’s president of global and strategic partnerships and in several other positions.
- The announcement is further evidence of Yuga’s ambitious plans to build out its interoperable gamified metaverse and make a name for itself in the blockchain gaming space.
Why it matters
Yuga Labs isn’t kidding. After launching the most successful NFT project of all time in April 2021 at the Bored Ape Yacht Club, the company has gone on to acquire and release IP licenses to holders of top NFT collections such as CryptoPunks and Meebits. The well-established Web3 entity has since expanded on a massive scale. Yuga has made no secret of its intentions to blow up the metaverse and blockchain gaming spheres, having announced its gamified metaverse platform Otherside in March 2022.
Otherside, which allows users to turn their NFTs into playable avatars in the digital space, was built in partnership with Animoca Brands, the well-known game software and VC company that develops and publishes a wide range of blockchain and traditional games. The narrative-driven metaverse also features Improbable’s MSquared platform, which has game streaming functionality that allows users to join the metaverse from laptops and phones without the need for expensive or resource-intensive game setups. The message has long been clear: expand, spread and lower the entry barrier to the world of blockchain-integrated gaming in the metaverse.
The work to do just that has increased in frequency and intensity throughout the year. In March, the company raised $450 million in a funding round led by a16z, valuing Yuga Labs at $4 billion. Bringing in the former president and COO of a major gaming competitor signals that Yuga is seriously invested in expanding its Web3 empire, absorbing the biggest names and best talent it can in the process. To mark the occasion, Alegre chose Mutant Ape #3850 as his Web3 avatar from BAYC’s second NFT collection, Mutant Ape Yacht Club.
The transfer of power from Muniz to Alegre makes perfect sense. The former has done an excellent job of scaling the company to what it is today, but navigating the metaverse gaming sphere requires some serious industry knowledge. Alegre’s pedigree will add some much-needed wisdom and expertise to Yuga Labs as it ramps up its expansion efforts. In the press release, Yuga Labs co-founder Greg Solano noted that outgoing CEO Nicole Muniz has been a “trusted leader” who helped set the company up for success, and that she will not “step aside” to continue as a partner. and strategic advisor to help with the administrative transition and beyond.
In July, Yuga Labs invited 4,300 Otherdeeds metaverse plot owners to a “First Trip” technical demo of its immersive online platform. The company also announced that all Otherdeeds owners and select third-party developers will be able to participate in the game’s first phase.
“I look forward to working with the passionate, creative team at Yuga to innovate, inspire and shape the future of the internet together,” Alegre said in the press release. This is a common position to take when stepping into a major Web3 role, but as long as that future involves Web3-integrated gaming experiences, a Yuga-backed Alegre is as likely as any to make it a reality.
“Nicole, Greg and I have been looking for someone with Daniel’s skill set for some time,” Yuga Labs co-founder Wylie Aronow said in the press release. “The business, our ambitions and the complexity of the work has grown beyond our wildest expectations. We are thrilled to have him on the team to help with our vision of a truly interoperable metaverse. Daniel has held one of the highest level roles in one of the largest gaming companies in the world. He brings valuable experience across entertainment, e-commerce and global strategic partnerships – all of which are critical aspects of an immersive web3 world built by creators and for creators.”
What will be next
Expect Yuga Labs to be looking for more talent in the future. Adding a name like Alegre to its roster only adds to the company’s gravitas, and shows Web3 and Web2 players how committed the company is to getting its game universe right. With the beta version of Otherside slated to launch sometime in 2023, Alegre’s influence couldn’t come at a better time.
