April Fools’ Day 2026 is once again a busy time in the anime and gaming industry. Many big titles are releasing special announcements in various formats, from corporate announcements, to spin-offs with unusual themes, to game modes that are actually announced for players.

In this year's April Fools’ compilation, names like Code Geass, Re:ZERO, The Apothecary Diaries, NieR, and Goddess of Victory: NIKKE showed up in their own ways. Some opted for a quick joke, some prepared visuals and videos, and some made it look like an official announcement.

April Fools’ Day 2026 from Anime

Code Geass announces Kabushikigaisha Code Geass

Code Geass opened this year's April Fools’ with the announcement of the establishment of Kabushikigaisha Code Geass. This campaign was accompanied by corporate website, company introduction video, and contact form which is formatted like an official business announcement.

Re:ZERO Comes as an Otome Visual Novel

Kadokawa released Re:ZERO - Starting Office Life in Another World for April Fools’ Day 2026. The title is brought as an otome visual novel with an office life setting and features the male characters from Re:ZERO - Starting Life in Another World.

Date A Live Changes Setting to Preschool

Date A Live is included in this year's compilation with Date A Live Preschool. From the title, this series takes place in a preschool setting for April Fools’.

Oshi no Ko Shows Kana Arima as a Ship Captain

Oshi no Ko presents Oshi no Ko DAILY NEWS EXTRA April 1 issue. It contained the news that Kana Arima was appointed captain of a pirate ship in Hakone's Lake Ashi area.

Fate/Grand Order Transforms Illustrations into Riyo Style

Fate/Grand Order announced A visual glitch that made the in-game illustrations change to Riyo-style illustrations. The same change is also said to appear on some images on the official website and social media accounts.

Magia Record Presents Madoka-senpai's Kioku

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story: Magia Record features Madoka-senpai's Kioku as the 3★ Kioku announced to arrive on April 1.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian So Fighting Game

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian got in on the April Fools’ fun with Alya and the Others in a Sometimes Glitchy Fighting Game. This title was introduced as the first fighting game of the series.

Mushoku Tensei Presents ~ Sweet Private Time~

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation is bringing ~Sweet Private Time~ for April Fools’ this year. Announcement It envisions Chronicles of Echo's as a dating sim and also includes special visuals.

The Apothecary Diaries Turns Maomao and Jinshi into Idols

The Apothecary Diaries released the concept movie bubbles and Edel Glanz on April 1. In this announcement, Maomao and Jinshi are envisioned to debut as an idol group.

bubbles was introduced as a girls group, while Edel Glanz was introduced as a boys group. Both are said to debut under the fictitious agency Lee Entertainment.

You and I Are Polar Opposites Announce The Witch and the Yeti

You and I Are Polar Opposites made an appearance with the announcement of the movie The Witch and the Yeti. The movie is said to hit theaters nationwide on Wednesday, April 1.

Gundam Schedules Celestial Being for 2314 AD

Sunrise and Gundam closed the anime list with the announcement of the Celestial Being movie. The movie is said to be released in 2314 AD.

April Fools’ Day 2026 from Games

NieR Introduces NieR: Cosmic Horror

Square Enix released an announcement of a new project titled NieR: COSMIC HORROR for April Fools’ Day 2026.

Palworld presents Pal♡world! ~More Than Just Pals~

Palworld released a special announcement video titled Pal♡world! ~More Than Just Pals~. This announcement was also accompanied by a page Steam as part of April Fools’ Day 2026.

Pragmata Performs with Mega Man Joke

Pragmata made his presence felt with the joke PRAGMATA is a Mega Man Game? This title appeared as one of the brief announcements on April 1.

Uma Musume Pretty Derby Bring Midori no Makibao Collaboration

Uma Musume Pretty Derby released a TV anime opening collaboration with Midori no Makibao. This collaboration was included in the April Fools’ compilation of the game franchise.

Infinity Nikki Announces Dance vs Dance on April 31st

Infinity Nikki from Papergames announced new gameplay mode Dance vs Dance. The announcement said this mode debuts on April 31.

Wuthering Waves plays on Solaris' name

Kuro Games’ Wuthering Waves released an April Fools“ announcement that plays on the name Solaris. The announcement uses the phrase ”Solaris? Shrink-laris? Soularis?" as part of the video.

LEVEL-5 Announces LEVEL-5 Land

LEVEL-5 announced LEVEL-5 Land, a LEVEL-5 themed theme park that is said to open one day.

Petit Planet by miHoYo

miHoYo also appeared in the April Fools’ Day 2026 data via Petit Planet.

Solo Leveling: ARISE Soroti Guild Boss Fachtna

Netmarble and Solo Leveling: ARISE presented an announcement that alluded to Fachtna's Guild Boss, the Ruined Wings. The joke was a short sentence that highlighted Fachtna's massive attack.

NIKKE World Opens Pre-Registration in 2036

SHIFT UP and Goddess of Victory: NIKKE announced NIKKE World. The announcement said pre-registration opens on April 1, 2036.

ALICESOFT Enters the Soft-Serve Ice Cream Industry

ALICESOFT announced entry into the soft-serve ice cream industry. This announcement introduces the soft-cream maker and an official information page describing the product.

Dragon Ball Presents Scouter Pro Max

Dragon Ball was included in the April Fools’ Day 2026 compilation via Scouter Pro Max. This title introduced as a new generation of wearable devices.

Dragon Ball Legends Presents Farmer Goku

Bandai Namco and Dragon Ball Legends announced SPARKING Farmer Goku as part of this year's April Fools’.

Taiko no Tatsujin Spirits Becomes a New Crossover

Bandai Namco also presents a Taiko no Tatsujin x Drift Spirits crossover through the title Taiko no Tatsujin Spirits.

DAVE THE DIVER Announces Collaboration with Real VR Fishing

MINTROCKET and DAVE THE DIVER announced the DAVE THE DIVER x Real VR Fishing collaboration scheduled for June 2026. This announcement seems to be the real deal?

IGN Introduces Project Playmo

IGN also joined the April Fools’ Day 2026 list with Project Playmo. This announcement was introduced as the copilot AI for PlayStation 5.

This year's April Fools’ has again shown how anime and games use different formats for April 1. Some made short appearances, some were brought with full visuals, and some were made very close to the official announcement format.

If you want to check out the previous year's compilation, you can also check out here.

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