Yuga Labs has announced what's next for its metaverse game, Otherside. New events and tools are rolling out this summer, starting in July. These changes will give more power to creators, open up new gameplay, and get the platform ready for Otherdeeds and Voyager 2.0 later this year. 

Let's take a closer look at what's coming.

Build Worlds Using AI, No Code Needed

One of the biggest updates is a new AI tool that helps users build 3D worlds with simple chat commands. This tool, integrated with an AI agent called Koda Agent, works inside the Otherside Development Kit (ODK). You just type what you want, like "make the sky blue" or "add trees", and the AI changes the game world for you. No coding is needed.

This makes it much easier for anyone to start creating on Otherside. In July, Yuga will also unlock nearly 1,000 assets from 29 Otherdeed Biomes for ODK users to work with.

Three New Interactive Experiences Coming to Otherside

Starting in July, Otherside will also launch three new dynamic experiences.

Bathroom Blitz is the first. It's an 8v8 shooter set in the Bored Ape bathroom. This fast-paced game was built by a team called Command Line using the ODK. It will stay online for a few weeks so the team can gather feedback. Playing will also earn you Voyager XP, which tracks what you do across Otherside and rewards you later.

Later in July, Meet Me at the Clubhouse will go live in the updated Bubbles space. The Clubhouse can now fit 500 players at once (up from 100) and supports direct links, so you can invite others to join with just a URL. This should help streamers and community groups host bigger meetups.

In August, Otherside Outbreak will launch as the second major long-term event. This one is designed to test how well the platform handles many users at once. It will also earn players more Voyager XP.

What Is Otherside?

Otherside is a virtual world built on the blockchain by Yuga Labs, the creators of Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). It combines open-world gameplay with NFTs and lets you explore as a 3D avatar. You can use NFTs like Apes, Mutants, Meebits, and Kodas as your characters.

Land in Otherside is sold as Otherdeeds, NFTs that represent virtual plots. Some of these include rare characters called Kodas. Others are used to build, play, or run events. $APE is the currency used across the world, and Otherside supports popular token types like ERC-20, 721, and 1155.

All of this is powered by ApeChain, which allows you to trade, craft, or interact with items directly onchain.

Easy Tools for All Creators

Not everyone needs to use the full ODK to build things though. Otherdeed holders will get access to simple creation tools for graffiti stickers, emotes, and more. These tools, according to the team, are royalty-protected, which means creators can earn from what they make and keep control of their work.

Yuga Labs Refocuses on Otherside and BAYC

In early 2025, Yuga Labs began selling off its other NFT collections to focus on Otherside and BAYC. It sold the Meebits IP in February. In May, it gave CryptoPunks to a nonprofit group working to preserve digital art. That same month, it also sold the Moonbirds, Mythics, and Oddities collections to a web3 startup called Orange Cap Games.

These moves are part of a plan to put all of the team's energy into its two core products: Otherside and BAYC. 

A Look Back at Otherside's Development

Otherside began in April 2022 with a massive land mint. It sold 55,000 Otherdeeds at 305 ApeCoin each. The sale was so popular that it clogged Ethereum and caused sky-high gas fees. Yuga had to refund users over 90 ETH at the time and worked to improve its systems.

After that came First Trip, a test demo for landholders. It was followed in March 2023 by Second Trip, which added new features and multiplayer gameplay. Yuga later partnered with Improbable to boost the game's backend and avatar tools.

In February 2025, the team broke a Guinness World Record during Project Dragon, a large-scale shooter test inside Otherside. Over 2,100 people joined the same server, showing the game's tech can handle big events. This was a major step toward the launch of persistent worlds.

What's Ahead

Yuga's roadmap for the rest of 2025 includes two major launches: Voyager 2.0 and full Otherdeed utility. In 2026, the focus shifts to a new system called Resources, which may bring land production, crafting, and more economic gameplay to the world.