Over the weekend you may have noticed a lot of crazy news announced.
And no I’m not talking Donald Trump’s Twitter account.
It was in fact April 1st, bringing about the old April Fool’s Day jokes where nothing on the internet can be trusted. (Like most of the FAKE NEWS on the web all year round).
And the games industry, as always, was keen to get in on the action.
Below we’ve put together a round-up of some of the best April Fool’s jokes around the sector for you to mildly smirk at one last time before the usual news cycle returns to its former glory.
Supercell buys Tencent
Of course PocketGamer.biz was in on the tomfoolery once again. We published our exclusive that Supercell had performed a reverse takeover of Tencent using the classic Trojan Stalking Horse Inverted Heimlich Maneuver.
A consortium of Finnish companies, including a large salmon farm and processing outfit, was able to pull off the audacious move.
“If Chinese chicken farms can invest in games so can Finnish fish farmers,” said Finnish fish farmer Hanka-Taimen Hukkanen.
Responses to the story were some mild laughter and accusations of “very droll” humour.
Somehow I don't think anyone believed it.
Supercell reveals new range of giant sword, shield and rock mobile phone cases
Supercell took things much further that we did. The fairly successful Finnish studio put together four videos on some brand spanking new mobile phone cases for fans of swords, shields and rocks.
Seems legit to me. And the ideal way to play Clash of Clans.
The sword even doubles up as a great way to defend your game from those who may want to stop you playing Clash of Clans, such as rivals,concerned family members, and friends interested in venturing into the outside world.
Announcing Angry Birds Stretch!
Rovio revealed the latest Angry Birds-branded IP on Saturday, with the new Angry Birds Stretch!, “an all new and completely unique Angry Birds experience”.
It looks suspiciously like another famous mobile game from Finland, but I can’t quite put my figure on it.
In any event, that Red looks much more like a snake than an angry bird.
And it’s a brand new experience that’ll only cost $9.99 at launch.
Play as the slugs in Best Fiends
Those pesky slugs from Seriously’s Best Fiends took over the game for one day only, allowing users to play as their arch nemesis against the lovely Fiends!
At least that’s according to the game’s Twitter account.
But perhaps the biggest question of all is, not whether the news was fake or not, but whether those comments were real or not.
You asked and we listened! TODAY ONLY you'll be able to play as Slugs and battle the Fiends! pic.twitter.com/lwnVpe3f4N
— Best Fiends (@bestfiends) April 1, 2017
Hearthstone – The MMO
Blizzard seems to always release a sure-fire hit, and appeared to be on to another winner with the unveiling of Hearthstone – The MMO, a spin-off of its hugely successful CCG.
A special video promised you could play the iconic characters of Hearthstone “in a way you’ve never seen them before”.
“Hone your craft in a world of war,” the trailer said.
Sounds like a great idea to me.
Gobble up the streets, the Google Streets, with Ms Pac-Man
Google is famous for its April Fool’s jokes, even sparking one of the most successful mobile games of all time (Hello, Pokemon GO).
So of course it came back with more this year, including the ability to play Ms. Pac-Man on Google Maps.
It delivers all the classic gameplay you’ve come to expect from Pac-Man, something that has never ever changed.
Just head to Google Maps and “insert coin” now to give it a playthrough.
Mars Attacks!.... World of Tanks
Wargaming doesn't take April Fool's lightly.
Which is in contrast to its low gravity update for World of Tanks. Wargaming decided to send players to Mars to blow up UFOs.
Tanks were able fire lasers and you even perform incredibly stylish jumps.
But not just for April 1st. In what can only be a celebration of Fake News all day, everyday, the new World of Tanks Mars Mode was in fact available from March 31st to April 2nd.
