Fooled Ya! Some of This Year's Most Notable Gaming April Fool's Pranks

Chris Morris
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The gaming world can’t resist a good joke. Unfortunately, it can’t resist a bad one, either.

April Fool’s Day is once again upon us, blurring the lines between what’s real and what’s not — and sometimes just ignoring the lines altogether. So while some people will try to fool you into believing Half-Life 3 has just been announced or that Nintendo is getting out of the console business, it’s best to take everything with a grain of salt as you bebop around the Internet today.

Rounding up all of the pranks is an impossible task (and, let’s face it, some are so terrible that they don’t deserve the attention), but here are a few of the most high-profile for 2015.

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Starcraft’s Legacy of the Void Keepsake — When a small model from your favorite game isn’t enough, Blizzard Entertainment is willing to step up — with this full-scale replica of the vessel found in Starcraft II’s Legacy of the Void. The company promises it will have everything from the probability drive to the motorized cup holders. Blizzard estimates it will be available in 2315.

Chris Roberts’s ISLAnd CITIZEN — Sure, he’s not quite through with Star Citizen yet, but the man behind Wing Commander is now tackling the deep blue with this “First Person Ocean” game in which you choose your fish, profession, and allies. Look for the crowdfunding effort to start any day now.

World of Warcraft’s T.I.N.D.R. — Want to hook up with that Dark Elf you’ve had your eye on while leveling up? Blizzard strikes again with this “new feature” coming to WoW that will let you “steer the boat of love to safe harbor” — overseen by the game’s Pleasure-Bot 8000.

Harmonix Romance Central — Starting to see a theme here? Harmonix is hooking up fans with a playable game to “meet the dancer of your dreams.” Just fill out a personality profile and you can go on a virtual date with the future love of your life. (By the way, hookup April Fool’s gags aren’t restricted to the gaming world. GoodReads’ April Fool’s joke follows the same path.)

Turtle Beach Gamer Juice — There are so many noxious caffeine-loaded drinks aimed at gamers these days that it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Turtle Beach would jump into the market. However, there’s probably less of a market than you’d expect for anything that’s “Copper Flavored” — even if it does offer 115% of your daily recommended allowance of Unicorn Tears.

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ORIGIN PC’s In-Game Gold Trade Program — Been hoarding gold in World of Warcraft, the Elder Scrolls Online, World of Tanks, or Hello Kitty Online? (Yes, that’s a real game.) Now Origin PC is (not) letting you trade it in for a real-world computer. Support is coming soon for Half-Life 4, the company says.

ThinkGeek — ThinkGeek is the king of April Fools. But what makes their efforts even more impressive is that one or two of the jokes typically become real items for sale. Among the “offerings” this year are Mad Max-inspired motorized cars for kids, a DIY 360-degree selfie rig, a Guardians of the Galaxy Collector’s Edition Groot Beer and Rocket Fuel Two-Pack, and a slightly different take on a Steam Machine.

Pac-Man on Google Maps — The preceding gags were meant to fool you — and maybe elicit a chuckle. Google’s going a step further and letting you have fun. Go to any location on Google Maps, and with a single click at the bottom left of the screen, you can play a game of Pac-Man on those streets.

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