Top 10 April Fools Gaming Pranks from 2018!

Razer

Do you ever feel you aren’t the best you could be at playing your favorite online game? Are those hardcore gamers getting you down with their pro-level skill? Well, Razor almost had a product just for you! In this obviously fake commercial, the gaming computer manufacturer revealed a serum that makes you play games at your maximum potential. As much as we wish this product was real, we can agree that this would be far too dangerous for our health and those around us. We’ll just stick with coffee…

SEGA

With a meme as legendary as Sanic, you would think SEGA would have acknowledged this a lot sooner. Thankfully, this year, the official Sonic the Hedgehog Twitter revealed Sanic merchandise that you can purchase from SEGA Shop. With a link that contains the phrase “It’s totally real”, we were expecting a Rickroll or some other trolling video. Nope! You can legit buy Sanic merchandise from SEGA! Of course, the tee made its way onto the Best-Seller list. Honestly, we aren’t sure if we should be surprised that happened.

Hi-Rez Studios

The Smite community has long joked about the release of this character. Each patch was accompanied by forum posts ironically asking: “When’s Fenrir coming out?” Well, for those of you who know how to milk a joke dry, his true build is finally coming out! Or, so we thought. Hi-Rez revealed that Fenrir will be the next God, but he’s coming with an entirely different moveset. He’ll be able to fetch projectiles, electrocute enemies with his shock collar, and even mark his territory. Lovely. Oh, and his ultimate immediately ends the game, with everyone earning a victory. Clearly, this would have been a broken character, but there are many of us “Smite” players that wish this was a real thing.

Riot Games

We could always use more skins for our favorite champions. When Riot Games announced the “April Foods” event, we weren’t exactly sure whether this was real or fake. Sivir would be given a pizza delivery girl outfit, and Galio would get a chicken costume. On top of that, Kog’Maws could be customized to look more like pugs. Cute! Luckily, this turned out to be real, and now, we can get even sillier in our “League of Legends” games. Seriously, don’t kick us for spamming that chicken dance, please!

Yacht Club Games

Okay, this one was really clever. Citing a number of fan requests, the folks over at Yacht Club Games finally caved and decided to give the people what they’d been so desperately asking for… with a twist. While fans had been asking for Shovel Knight 64, referring to a Shovel Knight game in the graphical style of the Nintendo 64, Yacht Club went with something a little more retro, creating a version that would fit right at home on the Commodore 64! You got us this time, Yacht Club. Top-notch trolling.

Nvidia

Alright, so, that Venom serum thing was FAR from a good idea. Why not take some classes on PC gaming, then? For April Fools, Nvidia introduced their own GeForce Academy of Gaming, where you can sign up for classes on building computers, the philosophy of video games, and even managing an eSports team! Hang on a minute… The acronym for GeForce Academy of Gaming is “GAG”, and the Director of Admissions is wishing me a happy April Fools Day? Too bad, that Fortnite class sounded pretty awesome!

Remedy Entertainment

Typically, when a company announces they’re evolving or changing their focus, it becomes a sign of new products and new management. Remedy Entertainment apparently found their true calling card. The studio behind “Max Payne” and “Alan Wake” released a video, announcing their shift from making video games...to making coffee. This would have been an “interesting” company shift, but we enjoy Remedy’s games too much to be happy with that decision. However, that Cauldron Lake blend does look heavenly.

Ubisoft

In this hilarious gag trailer, we see a dog who desperately wants some attention from his owner. However, the dude wants to spend his time playing “Far Cry 5” and hanging out with a virtual dog! Luckily, the owner finds a way to make everybody happy. He orders a squeaky toy that looks exactly like an assault rifle. Aw, how adorable! This one's definitely weird, but strangely touching and sweet.

Square Enix

If you’re one of the very few people who actually enjoys harvesting materials in “Final Fantasy XIV Online”, this would have been the app for you. Square Enix announced an app where you can take your phone and search for harvesting nodes in the real world. You could gather material by tapping on your phone, assuming you don’t fall victim to a poor success rate. If you’re looking to beat the odds, you could order a “harvesting stick”, allowing you to bash your phone against a tree or cast your phone into a pond to go fishing. It’s always refreshing to see a company poke fun at itself, and this gag does just that.

Before we reveal our top pick, here are a few Honorable Mentions…

Pokemon GO’s 8-bit Graphics
Niantic

Eevee Joins “Tekken 7”
Bandai Namco & Katsuhiro Harada

Lootboxes & Horse DLC in “Kingdom Come: Deliverance”
Warhorse Studios

OVERKILL Software

We’ve come to understand that if something really amazing is announced around April Fools Day, always take it with a grain of salt. Of course, trailers with good production quality are going to make us wish they were real. This year, Overkill Software released a trailer for “Payday: The Animated Series”, which looked like it was ripped straight from the 90’s. Unfortunately, even if this was real, we wouldn’t be able to watch them, as they’re only available on VHS and Betamax.