April Fools' Day is a particularly tricky day for gamers, as they're often tasked with trying to decipher what's real news and what's just a joke. No, Nintendo isn't changing Kirby's shape into a square, but yes, For Honor has added Rabbids for a limited time. Most years, a lot of these April Fools' Day jokes by gaming companies can be found on the Reddit r/Games community, but this year users will find that the page is shut down.
The r/Games mods on Reddit have decided to shut the page down on April Fools' Day as a way to protest Internet toxicity by users on the forum. Providing various examples of derogatory, discriminatory, and flat-out inappropriate posts made by r/Games users, the mods went on to explain their overall goal with the shutdown.
"Preventing the cultivation of bigotry means giving it no ground to go to, and as a whole leave only space for those who would respectfully participate. We must closely examine our own communities, in an effort to encourage acceptance and inclusion, to foster a healthy community in which we value empathy and respect."
The r/Games post concludes with links to various charities. Among the charities is AbleGamers, which creates custom setups for gamers with disabilities so that they can better play video games. Another charity represented in the post is Child's Play, which provides video games to children in hospitals, and has raised a staggering $44.5 million since its formation in 2003.
While the r/Games mods seem to have good intentions by shutting down the forum on April Fools' Day and promoting various charities, it remains to be seen how exactly the community will react to the situation. Some members of the community who don't make toxic posts may not be happy that they are essentially being punished for the actions of others. And those who are being called out for their toxic behavior may now decide to double down as a way of protesting the protest.
Needless to say, it will be interesting to see what the r/Games community thinks once the forum reopens tomorrow, April 2.