April Fool’s Day is a surprisingly prominent day in the gaming world because of some of the announcements gaming websites and developers put out. Fake hardware announcements, fake game announcements, and hilarious patches flood social media and give gamers a good laugh or two.
Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen the biggest developers and games put out some hilarious video announcements and initiatives that have taken the internet by storm and even brought players back into games for some surprises. So, as another April Fool’s Day rolls by and new fake announcements and hilarious patches are waiting in the wings to add some hilarity to everyone’s day, it’s a great time to take a look back at some of the most memorable April Fool’s jokes/pranks in gaming.
When thinking back through some of the best April Fool’s hijinks over the years, nothing stands out more than that fake Titanfall trailer back in 2014 from IGN. I’ll never forget waking up that morning and seeing a trailer from IGN saying that Optimus Prime was going to be joining Titanfall as a new Titan. The trailer was absolutely incredible with Optimus’ voice being there, amazing gameplay of him decimating pilots and other Titans, and his design being absolutely immaculate. It was legitimately so mind-blowingly awesome that it was hard to believe that it was fake, but of course it was. IGN really got the whole internet when this dropped, and it immediately caught fire as an all-time great prank. It’s definitely a bummer that Optimus Prime never came to Titanfall, but IGN pulled off an April Fool’s prank for the ages that still hasn’t been forgotten.
However, this wasn’t the first or the most notable time that players have been mislead on April Fool’s Day to believe that guest characters were coming to big games. Back in 2002, Electronic Gaming Monthly released an issue that stated that players could unlock both Sonic and Tails in Super Smash Bros. Melee by defeating at least 20 enemies in Cruel Melee. With the report being detailed enough and including forged photos of the character selection screen with Sonic, many players believed this was true and took on the daunting challenge to try and unlock these two iconic characters. However, EGM eventually came out and said this was a joke. Sonic would eventually sprint his way into Smash Bros. Brawl, but EGM’s prank on the gaming community got them good and is easily one of the most infamous gaming pranks in history.
Now, we’ve seen a couple of times where publications tricked gamers with guest character announcement that didn’t turn out to be true, but what about times where games actually got a weird and wild character invasion fitting for April Fool’s Day? Well, back in 2019, Ubisoft pulled off a crossover event like no other by having the Rabbids invade For Honor for April Fool’s Day. The contrast of seeing these realistic, historic warriors alongside the wild and cartoonish Rabbids is a hilarious sight to behold. It’s such a perfect gag crossover that’s even more wild than the Rabbids crossing over with Mario for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. It was certainly one of the more memorable April Fool’s gags by Ubisoft, but certainly not their only ones.
That same year, Ubisoft turned Rainbow Six Siege into a pink and glittery play haven with a weeklong April Fool’s event called Rainbow is Magic. The game basically looked like a unicorn threw up pink and rainbows all over the place and it’s totally inspired by My Little Pony. It was certainly a different look for the game that’s perfect as an April Fool’s gag and they really went the extra mile visually.
Last year, Ubisoft went back to For Honor to pull off more gags by shrinking players down for some miniature fighting. It’s totally Honey, I Shrunk the Kids inspired, and it has players fight against historic warriors in these large-scale environments. It was hilariously epic and unexpected.
Some of the best April Fool’s gags aren’t always seen in games and can come in the form of fake peripherals or initiatives from game companies. Let’s not forget PlayStation creating a fake trailer for a fake peripheral called PlayStation Flow that meant to make underwater sections of game a little more interactive. The idea is totally absurd, and the video announcement was hilarious because it felt like a real announcement. The goggle design of the PlayStation Flow looks like an admittedly cool aquatic version of a VR headset and seeing people actually try to use the device on their couch and walking around to “enhance” their swimming experience in games is absolutely hilarious.
Capcom pulled off an equally hilarious gag following the success of the Resident Evil 2 Remake by asking players to support the zombies they had been killing. To support and save the declining zombie population, Capcom created a prank website that had players apply for a job as a zombie. It was a perfectly timely gag that not only acknowledged the success of RE2 Remake in a fun way but brought the community together to save their favorite flesh-eating antagonists.
Of all the April Fool’s pranks in gaming history, none are as prolific or impactful as League of Legends introducing URF (Ultra Rapid Fire). URF was meant to be a one-off joke mode where it essentially stripped away all the balancing League of Legends was known for. Things like attack speed, movement speed, gold farming rates, and critical damage were heavily increased and cooldown times and mana cost were significantly reduced. Basically, the gameplay sped up immensely and offered fans a new kind of experience with the game. Unexpectedly, URF became a beloved game mode by fans and Riot Games kept it around a little longer before eventually putting to rest. To this day, fans still eagerly await its return and Riot Games even trolled the fanbase by introducing NURF (New Ultra Rapid Fire), a game mode that’s the total opposite of URF and nerfs you character immensely. URF is one of the few April Fool’s pranks that caught fire and became a staple to what fans love about the game making it one of the most game-changing pranks in all of gaming.
As April Fool’s Day dawns on us again, the gaming community is left wondering what’s in store for this year. Personally, I’m expecting something fun in Animal Crossing: New Horizons given how they love to celebrate holidays and I don’t see them skipping April Fool’s Day. Regardless, April Fool’s Day still remains a fun and unexpected day in the gaming world that lets everyone laugh together.
