Web3 Watch: Yuga Labs demos ‘Otherside’ metaverse, users left with mixed feelings

Yuga Labs did a test of its Bored Apes-themed Otherside Metaverse for a handful of NFT holders this week.

The metaverse is designed for players to “decide their fun,” meaning that there is little guidance and players themselves must control their own experiences. Following the launch, users left with mixed reviews of their metaverse escapade. 

It is important to note that the Otherside Metaverse is not a “finished product being launched,” meaning the project is still a work in progress.

Read more: The investor’s guide to the metaverse

The point was made in a review by a user that goes by the pseudonym white-house.eth. They said in an X post that their experience in Otherside felt more like a proof of concept than tens of millions of dollars and two years of work. 

Another player that goes by the pseudonym jpegflippa said they were “underwhelmed” by their experience.

Despite this, a user by the name of ThePilot.x on X, wrote that the experience had exceeded his expectations.

“Every single part of the APES COME HOME experience was SO much better than I was expecting,” ThePilot.x wrote. “Both my kids played too, one who usually only plays Fortnite, and one who usually only plays Roblox, and they LOVED IT.”

The user added that they were blown away by the graphics and small details in the game, which made the overall experience “ethereal.”

The launch of Otherside Metaverse comes just a week following an exec shakeup at Yuga Labs, where Greg Solano replaced former Activision exec Daniel Alegra as CEO of the company. 

Read More: Web3 Watch: Yuga Labs’ tumultuous week

Despite mixed reviews and internal politics, the floor price for Apes spiked this week and is currently sitting at 21.99 ETH (approximately $74,449).

Telegram gears up for crypto revenue sharing

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov has revealed that channel owners on Telegram can now start receiving financial rewards for their work.

“In March, the Telegram Ad Platform will officially open to all advertisers in nearly a hundred new countries. Channel owners in these countries will start receiving 50% of any revenue that Telegram makes from displaying ads in their channels,” Durov wrote.

Durov added that they will be exclusively using the TON blockchain to ensure ad payments and withdrawals are “fast and secure.”

Following this announcement, the price of toncoin, TON blockchain’s native token, has increased by almost 30%. It is currently trading at $2.70.

One interesting stat:

• Dog-themed coins saw their market capitalization jump 30% to over $30 billion on Wednesday, according to CoinGecko.

Also of note:

• The NFT card game Parallel entered Open Beta.
• Solana game MixMob received stormtrooper license.
• VanEck released NFT marketplace “SegMint GmbH.”

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