From Fortnite to Web3: Mike Seavers joins Yuga Labs as CTO | NFT CULTURE | NFT News | Web3 culture
Yuga Labs, a Miami-based Web3 leader, has announced that Mike Seavers, the former Executive Vice President of Development at Epic Games, will join the company as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) on May 22. Seavers will take over from current CTO and Co-founder Kerem Atalay, who will remain with the company as a strategic advisor.
Seavers has over two decades of experience as a technology and product leader, having led the development teams behind Unreal Engine, Fortnite and the Epic Games Store during his tenure at Epic Games. He was also the Chief Technology Officer for Riot Games, where he supported the development of games such as League of Legends and Valorant. Seavers has experience outside the gaming industry, having worked with several Fortune 500 companies in the past.
“There have been rare moments in my career where I felt like a new technology created a real paradigm shift for the world,” Seavers said. “I recognize that web3 is one of those moments, and I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Yuga Labs to help usher in a new era of the Internet that impacts the world for the better.”
Yuga Labs CEO Daniel Alegre expressed his excitement at Seavers’ appointment, stating that his experience and expertise will help the company scale and achieve its vision of being the Web3 platform at the forefront of community and social engagement, across media and entertainment. Alegre also acknowledged Atalay’s contribution to the company and expressed his pleasure that he will continue to be involved as a strategic advisor.
In his statement, Seavers expressed his belief in the potential of Web3 to create a paradigm shift for the world and stated that he is excited to join Yuga Labs to help usher in a new era of the Internet that impacts the world for the better.
Yuga Labs has shaped the future of Web3 through storytelling, experiences and community, reinventing what real tools for NFTs look like and pushing the space forward as a whole. Yuga Labs made headlines as one of the first companies to issue IP licenses to its NFT holders, bought and released rights to other top aggregators like CryptoPunks and Meebits, and made Web3 history with record-breaking synchronized player participation in their latest initiative, Otherside . Yuga Labs raised a $450 million seed round at a $4B valuation in March 2022.
Mike Seaver’s experience with games
Mike Seavers’ appointment as the new CTO at Yuga Labs is a significant development not only for the company, but also for the gaming industry and the Web3 space as a whole. Seavers has a proven track record of developing innovative platforms for some of the world’s top game companies and has led the development of several highly successful games. His expertise will be invaluable in developing and scaling Yuga Labs’ gaming and metaverse initiatives, such as Otherside and Bored Ape Yacht Club, and advancing the real utility of NFTs in Web3. This move by Yuga Labs underscores the growing importance of gaming and entertainment in the Web3 space and highlights the potential of NFTs and blockchain technology to create new and exciting ways for people to interact and engage with media and entertainment.
