It's April Fools' Day once again, and you know what that means: a ton of joke announcements from some of your favorite gaming publishers and developers.
Here, for your perusal, is our roundup of the best gaming April Fools' Day gags we've seen so far.
Epic's acquiring Steam, apparently
On Shanghai-based video platform Bilibili, Epic posted that it's acquiring Steam from Valve. The video's in Chinese, but the gist of the good-natured jibe remains intact.
Fate/Grand Order introduces poker
There are many who would accuse gacha games of essentially being barely-disguised gambling rackets, but Fate/Grand Order has done away with the pretense for this April Fools' Day and introduced a poker minigame.
It might be a silly idea for the occasion, but you can actually play the new poker minigame here, and it comes complete with jazzy background music as well! You'll also get some neat rewards for the main Fate/Grand Order game by playing.
Deep Rock Galactic's real-life loot bug
Did you know that Deep Rock Galactic's loot bug is actually based on a real creature? It's true, and it's one unfortunate Ghost Ship employee's job to take care of the titular critter.
Valorant is swapping all agents' abilities around
Some very big changes are on their way to Riot's hero shooter Valorant, and the studio says if you don't like them, you should "keep it to yourself".
Update 4.1 is swapping all agents' abilities around, as well as adding new "eye wash stations" to help you "shrug off flashes". Finally, lying to your team will now be punished by muting for the remainder of the round.
Final Fantasy XI trolls its players
That's right: Final Fantasy XI still has a pretty solid community, and it's joining in the April Fools' Day prankery.
Highlights include a mount that can't move due to "lore reasons" and a new ability that lets you use gil as a throwing weapon, as well as a new "Unbelievably Vana'REAL" graphical setting.
Terraria Undeluxe Edition
Not many game updates or special editions actively remove content, but that's what Terraria's Undeluxe Edition is promising to do.
It boasts "5,092 fewer items", as well as "614 fewer NPCs" and "only 4 bosses". It's also "missing basic features", and it needs you "far less than ever before", according to Re-Logic. Fun!
All hail Medieval Dynasty's goose
Medieval Dynasty's April Fools' gag is perhaps a little more mysterious and engaging than most.
It invites you to solve a riddle involving "a majestic and almighty Goose" and to use your "Oxbow expertise" to decipher the puzzle. Why not head into the game and see what you can dig up?
War Thunder demands you witness it, and other Gaijin silliness
Military sim War Thunder is generally known as a pretty serious prospect, but its new event Mad Thunder is perhaps the most serious thing Gaijin Entertainment has ever produced.
Gaijin's squad shooter Enlisted, meanwhile, has received a rather curious new PvE zombie mode as part of the company's April Fools' "celebrations".
Operation "Breaking Dead" pits you against super-soldiers with capabilities far beyond those of regular humans; so much so, in fact, that Gaijin says it had to revert control of these soldiers to AI rather than humans.
PowerWash Simulator gets grimy
You've cleaned countless surfaces in PowerWash Simulator, but now, it's time to flip that switch.
PowerDirt Simulator tasks you with doing the complete opposite to what you'd normally do in FuturLab's cleaning extravaganza: covering everything in dirt.
Plumbers Don't Wear Ties reappears on 3DO
Limited Run Games might have seemed crazy for reviving the "cult classic" Plumbers Don't Wear Ties, but this April Fools' Day, you can own the game...on 3DO!
In the original X (formerly Twitter) announcement's replies, Limited Run invites skeptics to complete their purchase to find out if the $69 physical 3DO release is real. I'm too much of a coward to do that, but if you've ever wanted to own this piece of gaming history on its original hardware...well, this might be your chance.
Pokemon Sleep World Champions Tournament
Have you ever wanted to prove that you can sleep better than everyone else? The Pokemon Sleep World Champions Tournament is designed to help you do just that.
Sega introduces "Cartridge Loadable Content"
You've heard of DLC, or downloadable content, right? Course you have. Well, get ready for Sega's latest innovation: Cartridge Loadable Content.
Using this brand new technology, you can attach lots of different cartridges to your base Sonic the Hedgehog cart, and you can give him a big head, turn him into a hedge, and more.
My Time at Sandrock's next game is simply...My Time
Pathea Games' April Fools gag introduces a brand new game in the My Time series, simply titled My Time.
It's a smartwatch-based life sim with some pretty amusingly complex rules, and the announcement post takes a swipe at aggressive monetization practices as well.
Arma Reforger plays on your Army Men nostalgia
Over in Arma land, Bohemia Interactive has "revealed" a new Arma Reforger mode by the name of Tiny Wars, and it should appeal to you if you have nostalgia for the Army Men series.
HoYoverse shenanigans
HoYoverse's Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail also participated in the April Fools' Day shenanigans, although I'm not entirely sure that Genshin's event is purely a joke.
Genshin Impact revealed something called the Mondstadt Tourism Revitalization Project, while Honkai: Star Rail invites you to watch an epic trailer for a movie featuring Astral Express conductor Pom-Pom.
Strange goings-on in Goddess of Victory: Nikke
Stellar Blade developer Shift Up is celebrating April Fools' Day in its gacha RPG Goddess of Victory: Nikke, and things are getting weird.
Whether it's a new title screen created by fan meme character Doro or even an entirely new game, you can't accuse Shift Up of half-measures when it comes to April Fools' Day.
Don't Nod helps you to hunt ghosts healthily
Recently, Don't Nod released the action-RPG Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, in which you play as a ghost hunter. Our very own Tyler gave it a very respectable score indeed in his review.
If you're planning to hunt ghosts for real, though, you'll want Don't Nod's new ghost-hunting kit, which the studio announced earlier today. Shame it's just an April Fools' gag.
Dying Light 2's Pokemon minigame
The hectic environment of Villedor was crying out for a more relaxing turn-based combat minigame, and that's what Techland's April Fools' Day joke is bringing.
Pocket Zombies lets you catch, train, and battle the undead. Except, of course, that it doesn't. Oh, if only this one were real.
A new Elden Ring "expansion"
Bandai Namco took the meaning of the word "expansion" literally for its own April Fools' Day gag, announcing a new Elden Ring expansion that consists of...well, take a look for yourself.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2's Shoe Emporium
Vermintide 2's Lohner has decided to diversify his business ventures and has opened a Shoe Emporium for all your footwear needs. It's supposedly "coming after the release of Bardin's Songbook".
Stellaris wants you to meet Rick the Cube
Players have apparently been complaining that space sim Stellaris' character portraits are too anthropomorphized, but Rick the Cube is here to put a stop to all of that.
Behold his unknowable form, and play as him when he launches "Soon".
Cyberpunk 2077 now comes on floppy disk
Younger PC gamers probably won't remember the era of floppy disks, but if you do, you've probably got a strange nostalgia for them.
CD Projekt Red shares that nostalgia, it seems, since the studio has announced a floppy disk version of Cyberpunk 2077 for April Fools' Day. The game only spans 97,619 disks, which is a pretty significant achievement!
Satisfactory arrives on Nintendo Switch, complete with "smooth 7 fps gameplay"
Have you ever wished you could play Satisfactory on the go? Well, now you can! I mean, you can't, but for the sake of the joke, you can.
A new Satisfactory Direct "trailer" was unveiled today, showing off Satisfactory and its "smooth 7 fps gameplay" on the Switch. Ha ha, guys.
Yacht Club Games' new skincare product
Shovel Knight developer Yacht Club Games got in on the fun by introducing a brand new skincare product, guaranteed to take pride of place in your routine.
Naraka: Bladepoint's deadly new weapon
Naraka: Bladepoint is well-known for its range of deadly weapons, but its newest addition will have even the most skilled players weeping and begging for mercy.
Dave the Diver's Leahs-chan VR game
Wish you could chat with Dave the Diver's Leahs-chan and see her in something other than figurine form? Well, now you can*.
Check out Mintrocket's trailer for Dokidoki Leahs below. It's definitely real!
*Can't.
Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising's much-needed name change
If you've ever struggled with Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising's name, you'll be glad to know it's getting a much-needed name change soon, and the new name is much better.
Incidentally, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising is also welcoming a new fighter to its roster soon, and this one definitely isn't an April Fools' joke.
Tribes of Midgard? More like Tribes of Goblins
This April Fools' Day provides the perfect excuse to go full goblin mode...at least, if you're a Tribes of Midgard fan, that is.
Tribes of Goblins promises "open-world survival for up to 10 Goblins" and the chance to engage in "over 9000 varieties of rock combat". Who could resist?
Dead by Daylight introduces a giant killer
Sometimes, it's easy to feel small when you're a Dead by Daylight survivor fleeing for your life, but thanks to the game's April Fools' gag, that feeling isn't metaphorical anymore. Say hello to Oni.
Palworld's dating sim is 100% cursed
It might be a joke, but Palworld developer Pocketpair's April Fools' Day dating sim is beyond cursed.
I'm pretty sure that Pocketpair has actually willed this project into genuine existence and that we'll be playing it before you know it. Yikes.
Malcolm Myers comes to Guilty Gear Strive
If you've played Guilty Gear Strive's story mode, you'll probably remember the Mad Max-style bandit that accosts Sol and Jack-O' Valentine at the beginning.
Well, he's finally ascending to the role of playable DLC character (except not really, of course) thanks to "Season 4.1". You can check out his trailer here.
Halo finally lets us see Master Chief's face
What do you think is under Master Chief's helmet? A human face? A Tyranid? A screaming, soulless void?
Thanks to a new post on the official Halo X (formerly Twitter) account, we finally know...but you might not be ready for the truth.
Razer's Cthulhu gaming chair wants your soul
That is not dead which can eternal...sit, apparently. The all-new Razer Cthulhu gaming chair comes complete with "eight independent robotic arms" that "cater to your every want".
