Otherside

Introduction

Otherside is a persistent metaverse from Yuga Labs, the studio behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, running on ApeChain with assets held on Ethereum. It brings together large shared social spaces, exploration, and player-built experiences, with thousands of people in the same world using technology Yuga brought in-house after acquiring Improbable’s engine team in 2025. The browser-based Koda Nexus hub opened in November 2025 as the main entry point, and new experiences keep arriving through the Otherside Development Kit.

Lore

Otherside unfolds across an interdimensional realm tied to an ancient Obelisk, whose fragments frame a staged narrative called the Voyager’s Journey. Holders of Otherdeed land become Voyagers in that story, piecing the Obelisk back together as the world’s history is revealed. The enigmatic Kodas are bound to the land’s origins and its deeper power, while distinct biomes connect through the Nexus, where players uncover artifacts and shape events over time.

Gameplay

Play centers on exploring the Nexus and its surrounding biomes, joining social gatherings, and working through daily tasks, challenges, and minigames that award badges and Voyager XP. Alongside the social layer, players can build and publish their own spaces and avatars with the Otherside Development Kit, which now includes an assistant that generates 3D scenes from chat prompts. Competitive play arrives through Blitz, an 8v8 arena shooter built on the same toolkit.

• Large shared events: gatherings, timed challenges, and daily tasks across the Nexus.
• Creator tools: custom experiences and avatars made with the ODK and its Koda Agent.
• Blitz and minigames: 8v8 arena matches alongside lighter modes like Chaos Particle.

Economy

The onchain layer runs on ApeChain, where ApeCoin serves as the utility and governance currency for transactions and ecosystem decisions. Ownership centers on Otherdeed land NFTs, which are set to gain resource harvesting, crafting, and trading of materials such as Anima, Ore, and Shards as those systems roll out through 2026. Player-made items and creations are meant to trade in an in-game marketplace, and avatars from dozens of NFT collections can enter the world, so access does not sit behind a single paywall.

• Land ownership: Otherdeed NFTs anchor territory and future resource production.
• Creator economy: user-built experiences and items are designed to trade in-world.
• Open avatars: characters from many NFT collections stay interoperable across Otherside.