"Evolved Apes," a collection of 10,000 ape NFTs, was advertised to have an NFT fighting game. That plan seems to have gone up in smoke as the NFT collection's developer has disappeared along with the funds for the game, according to reports.
The "Evolved Apes" developer, known anonymously as Evil Ape, disappeared with Ether that is equivalent to $2.7 million. The Twitter account of "Evolved Apes" and its official website has also been deleted from the internet.
'Evolved Apes' NFT Developer Vanishes with $2.7 Million
The "Evolved Apes" NFT developer, who is anonymously known as Evil Ape, has disappeared with $2.7 million of the funds that were expected to be used for a fighting game. The NFT collection has 10,000 ape-inspired NFTs.
According to Vice, the "Evolved Apes" official website and Twitter account likewise disappeared along with Evil Ape. The report also notes that the developer "left traces behind on the blockchain."
The report states that these traces show that Evil Ape "siphoned 798 ether ($2.7 million) out of the project's funds in multiple transfers."
"The funds, derived from the initial public sale of NFTs and commissions on the secondary market, were meant for project-related expenses like marketing," The Vice report adds.
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'Evolved Apes' Investors Investigate
Per the vice report, those who had invested in the NFT collection noticed that communications with the developer of "Evolved Apes" began to be a problem after the collection was dropped on September 24.
Investors eventually found out that the project artist had not been fully paid by the developer of the NFT collection. They also found out that winners of a competition on social media did not get the NFTs they were told they would receive as prizes.
This led to the investors of "Evolved Apes" conducting their own investigation of what happened.
"What has happened is that Evil Ape has washed his hands of the project taking away the wallet with all the ETH from minting that was to be used for everything, from paying the artist, paying out cash giveaways, paying for marketing, paying for rarity tools, developing the game and everything else in between," a report was written by Mike_Cryptobull, one of the investors of the NFT connection, reads, as quoted in the report by Vice.
Is 'Evolved Apes' a Scam?
Given what happened, is it safe to say that the "Evolved Apes" NFT collection and the promised NFT game are all just one big scam known as a rug plug?
According to a report by PC Gamer, police reports have been filed in the United Kingdom, where the "Evolved Apes" team is based. However, "while there is 'definitely an aspect of a scam,' there may not technically have been one."
The report cited an administrator of the Fight Back Apes Discord, which is the Discord channel of the "Evolved Apes" investors who are determined to start a new project based on the NFTs.
In an email to PC Gamer, the administrator said that "The thing is that everyone did get what they paid for, an NFT."
"At the end of the day any promises of a game or other development fall out of the scope of your purchase," the administrator explained.
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Written by Isabella James
