Top 10 April Fools Pranks in Gaming

Sony

Have you ever entered the swimming section of a game and thought to yourself: “hey, what if I could control my character by actually swimming in a real pool?” No? Well, Sony decided to riff on this insane idea and went about making a pretty intricate fake promo video for the PlayStation Flow, complete with a believably designed pair of goggles and body sensors that sync up with your PS4 so that you can control your character from the comfort of a pool. It’s ridiculous, self-aware, and really well put together considering how bonkers the idea actually is.

Phil Fish

“Fez” was universally praised for its unique mechanics, adorable art style, and addictive gameplay. So, when a sequel was announced, we were quick to board the hype train… but everything changed after the game’s notorious creator Phil Fish had a nasty feud with a critic, which was the catalyst for his abandonment of the project. We still await the day Fish comes back to the gaming industry to finish “Fez II” and we almost thought that day had come. On April 1, 2014, Fish tweeted that “Fez II” was back in development. It didn’t take long for us to realize this was all a joke. You know, some of us are still waiting for an actual sequel. Not cool, dude…

Square Enix

It has been a very long time since we last saw a “Final Fantasy Tactics” game. “Grimoire of the Rift” came out way back in 2008, so a new game is way overdue! Well, our wishes were about to come true when Square Enix announced “Tactics Alexander”. The music was kickass, and the graphics were an interesting stylized mix between fantasy and steampunk. Of course, our hopes were dashed when this all turned out to be fake. Come on, Square! It has been over a decade since the last “Tactics” game! Couldn’t you have gone with a different gag? Ugh, …at least we weren’t the only one frustrated by this. Just look at some forums, and you’ll see that some fans didn’t take this prank lightly.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

With every “Smash Bros” game, fans are desperate to know which characters are going to make the roster. Imagine our surprise back in 2002 when word got out that Sonic the Hedgehog (along with Tails) was a secret character in “Melee.” The mascot of Nintendo’s old rival in a “Smash Bros” game? Impossible! After spending a few hours trying to beat 20 enemies in Cruel Melee, we quickly learned that Electronic Gaming Monthly was trolling us the entire time. At least this became a reality when “Brawl” was released in 2008.

CD Projekt RED

“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” was such a perfect game! From its wide landscapes, dozens of quests, and compelling narrative, we still haven’t stopped playing it. If we had to pick nits...Geralt’s horse, Roach, does tend to bug out on occasion. CD Projekt RED played along with this issue and produced a whole video on the making of Roach. It's hilarious to think that the devs would intentionally make Roach buggy. The absurdity cranks up to 11 when they announce a “real horse” voicing Roach for the “Blood & Wine” expansion, complete with interactive dialogue trees. Seriously, though, what will it take to make this a reality?

Studio Wildcard

If you’re an avid fan of dinosaurs and dodos, chances are you’ve been playing “ARK: Survival Evolved”, a survival game where you explore an unknown world filled with prehistoric creatures. It's not a game for everyone, but there’s a healthy following. While many of us are still trying to get our own dino to ride on, Studio Wildcard decided to pull the old switcheroo! A patch was released where players could become a dinosaur and ride humans. The visual alone is hilarious, and it was cool of Studio Wildcard to include this as a part of the game.

Blizzard Entertainment

Ever heard of the Voltron-inspired mecha unit known as Terra-Tron! Basically, the Terrans have got themselves a Megazord built entirely out of their own base! As expected, this turned out to be a fake announcement…with a small asterisk next to it. While you may not be able to use the Terra-Tron, you can fight it in the epic final boss battle of Lost Viking. We must warn you, though; the fight will be incredibly difficult. Hope your friends got some mad skills!

Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard, you just can’t help trolling your own community, can you? The playable two-headed ogre was going to be a complex race, but it sounded fun to play! You and a buddy would control one half of the character, which would be named with a mash of your name and your friend’s name. On top of that, both players would share their own personal chat box to share thoughts. Again, this sounds fun, but after thinking about it, players quickly realized this would become a programming nightmare and a complicated playstyle. Only Blizzard would come up with something so complex it sounds believable.

IGN

If there’s anything we’ve learned about IGN over years of April Fools pranks, it’s that they can pull off some damn fine trailers, enough to fool a large chunk of the internet, at least. Seriously, seeing the Mass Effect cartoon and Bollywood Halo movie trailers made us wish they were real. However, perhaps the most convincing trailer (so far) was the alleged movie trailer for “The Legend of Zelda”. With its visual effects, costuming, and overall production quality, this looked all too real. Alas, it was nothing more than false hope.

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

Optimus Prime in “Titanfall”
IGN

MaChamps
The Pokémon Company

Element Animation Hijack’s Minecraft
Mojang

Google, Game Freak, The Pokémon Company, and Nintendo

Remember that big announcement from Google a few years ago? It was something along the lines of “Go on Google Maps so you can hunt and catch Pokemon as you travel”. Oh, and to sweeten the deal, the best trainer would be hired at Google Maps as “Pokemon Master”. Sounds like a dream job, right? Well, it does until you hit the disclaimer at the end of the video. Turns out, this was actually a clever collaboration between Google and the folks over at Game Freak, The Pokémon Company, and Nintendo. Fortunately, with the help of Niantic, what began as a silly April Fool’s day prank was fully realized into “Pokemon Go” in 2016!