Rounding Up April Fool's Day's Best Gaming Moments

Searching for gaming news on April 1 was quite the gamble with a minefield of suspicious updates [...]

By Tanner Dedmon - April 1, 2018 06:12 pm EDT

Searching for gaming news on April 1 was quite the gamble with a minefield of suspicious updates and battle royale modes galore, but some of the best pranks stood out from the rest.

Those reporting the news and those just looking for updates on their favorite games had to approach every bit of news cautiously today where everything looked like it could turn into a big joke at any moment. Some devs stuck with the goofy patch notes or previewed updates to "tease" features that would upend typical game modes while others went so far as to follow through with promises by actually creating new features or items in honor of the most suspicious day of the year.

With the day more than halfway over, we've probably seen about as many April Fool's Day pranks from gaming devs as we're going to see for the rest of the day, so the danger of trusting any story has almost fully dissipated. That being said, we've put together a list here of some of the best April Fool's Day gaming jests that we saw all day.

Pokemon Go Gets 8-bit Graphics

A harmless April Fool's Day change that invokes so much nostalgia such as the one Pokemon Go players received is impossible not to include on a best-of list.

The update that mobile players received reverted the game's PokeDex graphics back to a more sprite-tastic version and gave the Pokemon an old, classic look. Not every Pokemon model was adjusted, but the blog post from the devs promised that the PokeDex would be viewed in seen in a way that was "previously unimagined."

"Experience Pokémon GO like never before with cutting-edge 8-BIT GRAPHICS! Registering approximately twice the definition of 4K, the chunky squares of each pixel provide realistic detail and unbelievable definition," the blog post read. "Your Pokédex will feel lifelike in ways previously unimagined on any handheld device ever created."

With how classic the old look is for the game, there are probably more than a few players who wouldn't be disappointed if this was a permanent change, or at least a toggled option.

343 Industries Teases Halo: Battle Royale

Halo is already one of the most established shooting series out there, so why not capitalize on the battle royale craze with its own version of the genre, right?

That's exactly how 343 Industries teased Halo fans with the reveal of Halo: Battle Royale. The new game was previewed as one that featured 100 Spartans dropped into a battlefield before having to scrounge for weapons and defend themselves until only one remained. It even had a customization system included with items that wouldn't affect gameplay.

"Players will gain REQ Points as they complete games and prove their skills, and will be able to progress through ranks to receive rewards like armor, weapon and vehicle skins, grenade explosion effects, armor pieces, new drop pods, and even legendary Characters seen in previous Halo titles," the post read. "These rewards will not affect your skills on the battlefield, because as a Spartan, you must prove yourself in battle."

Halo players might've been rolling their eyes when first seeing the (mostly) obvious April Fool's joke, but some weren't so quick to dismiss it. Joke or not, there were more than a few players who held the opinion that they'd definitely play a Halo: Battle Royale game. Perhaps 343 Industries is taking notes.

League of Legends Gets New Skins and ... Proximity Chat?

League of Legends Pizza Delivery Sivir — (Photo: Riot Games)

Riot Games gears up for April Fool's Day every year with new League of Legends game modes and skins, so it should be no surprise to returning players that more of the same came this year.

For 2018's events, Riot Games gave players the long-requested Pizza Delivery Sivir skin. The cosmetic that was born from players' minds replaces the boomerang-throwing Sivir's weapon with pizzas and changeable toppings. Galio also got a food-themed skin called Birdio, and a whole wave of missions and other features helped compose the April Fool's Day event that's now live.

Over in the Oceania region, players' hearts also might've dropped a bit when they saw that proximity chat was in the works. League of Legends just recently got voice chat for premade groups, and the proximity chat feature looked to expand that so players could hear allies and teammates enough. Getting flamed in chat box is enough though, so no thank you Riot Games.

Path of Exile: Battle Royale Actually Becomes a Thing

Path of Exile may not be quite as big as League of Legends, Halo, and Pokemon Go, but huge props to the devs for following through with their April Fool's prank and actually creating a new game mode.

An update on the Path of Exile forums announced that Path of Exile: Battle Royale was now live, a game mode that pitted 100 players against one another. It was played by running the old Path of Exile client which would then update to the new version.

After announcing it and sharing a video that tried to explain that it was actually a real thing (created in one day of development, no less), players were still skeptical. The Path of Exile Twitter account tried to convince players that it was real, but many still didn't believe until they saw it being played on Twitch. Winners of the battle royale game are awarded with a Rhoa Dinner, a clear reference to PUBG's chicken dinner victory reward.

PayDay Gets an Animated Series

Much like the Halo: Battle Royale prank, Overkill Software has PayDay fans wondering if an animates series based on the games would be such a bad idea.

The trailer that was released for PayDay: The Animated Series has a distinct Saturday morning cartoon vibe, and it looks like that's exactly what Overkill Software was going for. Displayed through an old box TV with while lines breaking across the picture and the description of the video saying it's available on VHS and Betamax, Overkill Software even set up a section of its website for the animates series.

"PAYDAY the animated series is out now on VHS and BETAMAX!" the announcement read. "Grab a copy and you'll get 10 fully packed episodes! If you buy 3 copies, you'll get 2 copies for half the price of 4 copies and only pay for one extra 1 copy at full price!"

Check out the trailer above and tell us you wouldn't wake up early to watch an animated PayDay series.

Final Fantasy XIV On the Go

Rounding out the end of the best April Fool's Day jests is Square Enix's new mobile application, Final Fantasy XIV Online GO.

Unlike other games' battle royale modes and skins, this app isn't real, but some Final Fantasy XIV players might wish that wasn't the case. This app would allow Final Fantasy fans to play the massive game even when they weren't behind a monitor or a console while collecting resources out in the real world through interactive resource nodes.

As part of the app's trailer, Square Enix also revealed an exciting new product called the Harvesting Stick. It's not just a selfie stick, the video explained, it's a high-tech harvesting tool to improve resource gains.

"We are also working with a Japanese design company who have created a state of the art accessory for GO which we are calling the Final Fantasy XIV Online GO Harvesting Stick," the video explained before showing players bash their phones against trees and toss mobile devices into the water.

Square Enix can keep the Harvesting Stick, but adding a mobile companion app to the game would probably help keep those subscription numbers up.

Have a favorite April Fool's Day prank that we didn't list here? Let us know in the comments below!