The Bored Ape Yacht Club game Dookey Dash is coming back this spring as a free-to-play “Unclogged” version, following last year’s initial NFT-gated rollout—and creator Yuga Labs announced a sizable prize pool for the game over the weekend, along with some other key details.

Yuga Labs says that it will offer up at least $1 million worth of prizes for Dookey Dash: Unclogged when it debuts, with a trailer for the game showing ApeCoin imagery around the prizing news. Decrypt’s GG asked Yuga Labs whether the prize pool will indeed be paid out in ApeCoin, but the company declined to clarify, saying that more details are coming soon.

The company confirmed that the game will launch a 72-hour early access period beginning March 6 for 10,000 players, with the top scorer set to receive a Mutant Ape Yacht Club NFT. The Ethereum NFTs currently start at a price of 4 ETH (about $12,750) on secondary marketplaces, per data from NFT Price Floor.

Dookey Dash: Unclogged is an “endless runner” game that challenges players to guide a speedy vehicle through obstacle-packed sewers, surviving for as long as you can without crashing to try and set the highest score on the global leaderboard.

When it first launched last year, Bored Ape and Mutant Ape owners were granted a free “Sewer Pass” NFT that unlocked access to the limited-time game. Ultimately, the winner was pro Fortnite player Kyle “Mongraal” Jackson, who won a single-edition NFT prize that he ultimately sold for $1.63 million worth of Ethereum.

Now, Dookey Dash: Unclogged is coming back with a target on the masses, as the free-to-play game on PC, Mac, iOS, and Android will not require an NFT to play. In addition to the sizable prize pool, Yuga Labs has also said that there will be benefits for owners of certain NFTs, including Bored Apes, Mutant Apes, Bored Ape Kennel Club, HV-MTL, and Otherside Kodas.

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Yuga Labs Founder Garga Returns as CEO to ‘Unshackle’ Bored Ape Team

The Bored Ape Yacht Club’s creator has a new leader: Yuga Labs co-founder Greg “Garga” Solano announced Wednesday that he’s returning as CEO, replacing former Activision executive Daniel Alegre after less than a year at the helm. “I am stepping back in as CEO of Yuga Labs,” Solano tweeted. “Wylie [Aronow, Yuga Labs co-founder] and I are grateful for all the contributions and operational rigor Daniel has brought to the company, and appreciate his thoughtfulness and mentorship over the past year....

The new version was created in collaboration with crypto gaming startup Faraway, and will offer the ability for users to create and sell their own 3D assets in the game. Furthermore, the game will apparently include brand collaborations, with the ape mascot of streetwear brand Bape set to appear following the companies’ clothing tie-up last fall.

Edited by Ryan Ozawa