April Fools’ Day 2026: All of This Year's Best Video Game Jokes (So Far)

It’s April Fools’ Day 2026, and that means it’s erstwhile again clip to comb done different circular of the champion jokes and pranks the gaming manufacture has to offer.

Social media feeds person already been filled with high-quality, low-quality, and downright confusing gags from AAA and indie games alike. You won’t person to look excessively hard to spot immoderate fake – and adjacent immoderate precise existent – updates that person already made their mode to projects similar Peak, Hitman, Lords of the Fallen, Minecraft, and more, and if you enactment quickly, you tin adjacent snag immoderate genuinely bizarre Sonic and Silent Hill merch.

More April 1 pranks volition astir surely sneak their mode online successful the hours ahead, but we’ve gone up and collected immoderate of our favourite April Fools’ Day video crippled jokes for you to see, below. After that, beryllium definite to cheque retired highlights from 2023, 2024, and 2025, too.

PlayStation Is Playing Games So You Don’t Have to

IGN was arrogant to diagnostic the exclusive uncover of the wholly existent Project Playmo, a DualSense controller that plays video games for you. There’s nary request to interest astir each the accent of really playing games erstwhile this caller exertion tin bash each of that for you – and it tin adjacent bid immoderate pizza, too. You tin larn each astir it here.

Sega Is Feeling Extra Blue This April Fools’ Day

— SEGA (@SEGA) April 1, 2026

Sega felt its classical logo needed a facelift, truthful it injected it with astir 3% much blue. As if the alteration wasn’t evident enough, the earlier and aft representation provided should assistance wide things up.

Get Your Sanic Merch Right Here

OK, truthful possibly the bluer Sega logo won’t instrumentality around, but it looks similar the caller merch disposable connected the Sonic the Hedgehog publisher’s authoritative store will. Introducing the Sanic Collection, a three-shirt driblet that features Sanic & Shedew, Sanic Adventure, and Sanic & Knackle tees for $32 each.

CD Projekt Red Gives Roach the Spotlight successful The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

— The Witcher (@thewitcher) April 1, 2026

Roach, Geralt’s trusty equine companion, has ever been the concealed prima of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and now, CD Projekt Red is giving her clip to shine. A video for the Ride connected a Controller Horse (R.O.A.C.H.) highlights stunning caller technology, with much accusation astir the high-quality prank disposable here.

Crytek Adds Beetles With Hats to Hunt: Showdown 1896

Crytek warned players that “Hunters are NOT acceptable for this” successful the latest video update for Hunt: Showdown 1896, revealing an update that was archetypal thought to beryllium “too bold” and “too dark”: beetles with hats. Now done April 15, players tin input a codification (UA2D-2N3M-87N4-98XY) to adhd cute small cowboy hats for the Stalker, Fire, and Choke beetles. As if it was immoderate surprise, players are already opening for this to beryllium 1 prank that outlives the holiday.

PowerWash Simulator Does the Unthinkable With Date the Dirt Dating Sim

— PowerWash Simulator (@PowerWashSim) April 1, 2026 — PowerWash Simulator (@PowerWashSim) April 1, 2026

A PowerWash Simulator dating sim was inevitable, right? For this April Fools’ Day, the folks astatine FuturLab teased what it would beryllium similar if players got to cognize Dust, Grime, Eggy, and adjacent Chuck the plot gnome.

dbrand has a Message for Gamers: It’s Time to Touch Grass

dbrand re-launches Touch Grass collection. Image courtesy of dbrand.

Gaming and tech tegument shaper dbrand has brought backmost its Touch Grass look for iPhone, Nintendo Switch, Xbox and PlayStation consoles, and more. However, its 2026 re-release comes with a bonus with each order: a Blue Sky skin.

Arma Turns Into Farma for April Fools’ Day

— Arma Platform (@ArmaPlatform) April 1, 2026

Bohemia Interactive has laid down its weapons to alternatively get down the instrumentality of a tractor. A trailer for its Arma Reforged farming rebrand, Farma Reforager, shows what it would beryllium similar if the mil sim went disconnected successful a caller direction.

Bendy and the Ink Machine Summons the Avengers of Indie Horror

WATCH THE REVEAL TRAILER! They came from worlds apart… for an each caller #BENDY game! 🦾🖤#BendyNS @mobgamesstudios @NeighborGamesHQ @MeTattletail @Euphoric_Bros @Basically_Games @FNAF_ScottGames pic.twitter.com/zhS8999OV0

— Bendy (@Bendy) April 1, 2026

One of the much awesome pranks of the time came successful the signifier of a caller (and unluckily fake) hold of the Bendy and the Ink Machine Universe. The trailer for Bendy: Nightmare Syndicate shows what Five Nights astatine Freddy’s, Hello Neighbor, Baldi’s Basics, successful Education and Learning, Poppy Playtime, and different iconic indie fearfulness games would look similar successful that classical Bendy style.

Payday 3 Leaves the Life of Crime Behind

— PAYDAY (@PAYDAYGame) April 1, 2026

Starbreeze Studios says it’s been listening to “feedback” and has unveiled its caller be-a-regular-guy update. There’s really very, precise small Payday to beryllium had successful its video, but that’s benignant of the point.

Hitman Killer Agent 47 Gets a Makeover With New H.A.I.R.

— HITMAN (@Hitman) April 1, 2026

What would Agent 47 look similar with a afloat caput of hair? It’s a question we’ve each surely asked ourselves, truthful IO Interactive unveiled its caller H.A.I.R. task to amusement precisely what everyone’s been missing retired on. See 1 of the astir iconic characters successful games wearing hairsbreadth from the Mario world, KPop Demon Hunters, Baldur’s Gate 3, Resident Evil, and much successful the video above.

Peak Kicks Friendship to the Curb

we decided giving your friends a helping manus is lame af truthful its footwear present pic.twitter.com/2RAHfruXYJ

— AGGRO CRAB 💥 (@AggroCrabGames) April 1, 2026

Peak is astatine its champion erstwhile you’re climbing a steep upland with your friends astatine your broadside – oregon is it? For April 1, Aggo Crab has traded the quality to lend pals a helping manus successful favour of a full-on footwear mechanic. There’s nary telling however agelong it volition enactment successful the crippled itself, but for now, players are having a blast.

Lords of the Fallen Brings Players Into the Action With Helmet Vision

— LORDS OF THE FALLEN (@lotfgame) April 1, 2026

Third-person gaming is large and all, but CI Games thinks the cutthroat combat mightiness beryllium amended from a first-person perspective. For April Fools’ Day 2026, the developer showed disconnected Helmet Vision, virtually giving players a sliver of the action.

Ubisoft Goes Out connected a Limb With Rayman Redesign

new redesign wdyt pic.twitter.com/8XB012zy5v

— Rayman (@RaymanGame) April 1, 2026

Gamers cognize Rayman arsenic the video crippled mascot without arms and legs, but what if that changed? Well, whether you privation to spot what that would look similar oregon not, present it is.

Minecraft Breaks the Mold With Herdcraft Update

— Minecraft (@Minecraft) April 1, 2026

Mojang is doing distant with each of that pesky inventory absorption this April Fools’ Day with the Herdcraft update. Exclusively disposable via Minecraft: Java Edition, players volition present announcement that blocks and items simply obey your commands alternatively of sitting idly successful the menu.

“It’s technically mandatory to play it close now,” a blog station astir the prank update says. “Didn’t work those presumption and conditions, did you?”

Capcom Lets Leon and Grace Switch Places successful Resident Evil Requiem

— Resident Evil (@RE_Games) April 1, 2026

Capcom brought backmost Leon S. Kennedy and Grace Ashcroft actors Nick Apostolides and Angela Sant’Albano, not to reprise their roles, but to power them instead. A clip shared connected the franchise’s authoritative relationship reveals each prima swapping lines from immoderate of Resident Evil Requiem’s astir memorable moments.

Developing…

Michael Cripe is simply a freelance writer with IGN. He's champion known for his enactment astatine sites similar The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be definite to springiness him a travel connected Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).