If there is one day when all gaming studios run wild, it has to be April Fools’ Day, and the one in 2026 was no exception. Chances are that many gamers, like ourselves, fell for a few of these jokes, which, frankly, were among the best we’ve seen. So, in case you missed some of them, we’ve done a quick compilation of the best gaming jokes of April Fools’ Day 2026.
CD Projekt Announces Project R.O.A.C.H
If you thought you needed The Witcher 4, think again, because CD Projekt has unveiled the next project that will let us live as one of the most beloved characters in the series: Roach. That’s right, one of the best and biggest gaming jokes of April Fools’ Day 2026 was Project R.O.A.C.H, a controller that would let you explore the Continent in the most immersive way ever. Despite how amazing it sounds, it is just a horse head on a stick, which, to be fair, we’d totally buy.
The Mascots Invade Wuthering Waves
You might have seen the chaos the Wuthering Waves mascots have brought to several events, but it now seems that they are going beyond just threatening a few cosplayers. As you can see, Kuro Games released a new short showing not just the chaotic Camellya mascot, but several others wreaking havoc across different Somnoires. While it was an April Fools’ joke, we must admit that we’d play a game featuring this Camellya.
FFXIV Namazu and Moogle Have a Heart-to-Heart
Forget about the chat logs of the Warrior of Light or whatever happens in Balmung at night. The most important party chat we all wanted to see from FFXIV is between a Namazu and a Moogle, and Square Enix gave it to us. That’s right, for April Fools’ Day 2026, Square Enix released two of its most iconic characters from the critically acclaimed MMO, having a heated gaming conversation, or at least that’s what we assume it is about. Headphone users, be wary of the high squeaky sounds.
From R.E.P.O to P.E.A.K.O
Have you ever dreamed of a cooperative experience where you and your friends climb to the top of a perilous mountain and just get into all sorts of adventures together? That’s P.E.A.K.O for you. Yeah. There’s no other game that does this. In all seriousness, semiwork studio did an excellent collab with PEAK, which, yes, we don’t care if it sounds cringe, it was absolute peak. In truth, we’d love to see these two games throw an official gameplay-bending collab one day.
Become an NPC in Payday 3
Forget about slick bank robbers or wearing cute thief masks, the new, fantastic feature of Payday 3 is Non-Payday Character. As part of the April Fools’ Day 2026 gaming jokes, Payday 3 announced a complete NPC mode, where you need to live as a normal civilian, struggling with daily woes, alcohol drinking, getting rejected, and more. It doesn’t sound too bad for a life-sim if you ask us.
Nikke 2 Official Announcement
There were several elaborate jokes on April Fools’ Day, but if we had to give the crown to one, it would be to Nikke 2. Shift Up crafted a lengthy gameplay trailer showing how the sequel to this beloved franchise would look, and to be honest, we loved every second of it. Fortunately, we’ll be able to play it or test it around 2036, and that’s not too far away. Right? Jokes aside, this was a masterful announcement, and our favorite of the whole day full of jokes.
Pragmata x Mega Man
Pragmata isn’t even out yet, but it has already announced its first crossover, and it is with, you guessed it: Mega Man. Capcom’s official account shared Hugh dressed up as the Blue Bomber, and we don’t kid you, we’d love to see this option in the game, at least for a second playthrough. Now, we know Capcom loves doing crossovers, so it’d be great to see something between these two games in the future.
Blizzard’s April Fools’ Mayhem Strikes Again
As you know, Blizzard tends to be the leader of any gaming April Fools’ joke, and this year wasn’t the exception. A big chicken boss in Diablo 4, googly eyes in Overwatch, and large role-playing instances in WoW are just a couple of the things announced yesterday. However, it seems that Chi’Khan will be available for some time in the game, so that’s pretty cool.
PUBG Gets a Prop Hunt Mode
PUBG has grown considerably in these past years, and while there is an actual crossover coming, PUBG also announced a prop-hunt mode, which looks surprisingly fun and engaging. The hilarious thing about this is that people really fell for this and started going, well, full-on gamer mode. It was a fun thing to watch as people started to realize what day it was.
No Man’s Sky Will Finally Take Our Money
Out of all the jokes we wish weren’t jokes, the one from No Man’s Sky is one of them. Well, to an extent. This one was posted on the game’s official subreddit, and it seems many people were on board with the idea of giving Sean our money, which we’ve been asking him to take for a long time. In all seriousness, if any game out there deserves our money, it is No Man’s Sky.
Overall, it was a fantastic April Fools’ Day for the gaming community, and I truly admit that 2026 has been one of the best years for this event. At least we’re glad we didn’t get a jumpscare of another GTA 6 delay or the yearly Half Life 3 leak.
