Riot reveals their newest April Fools prank: Pingu
April Fools’ Day is here, and Riot Games had an early start with their most recent prank. We previously discussed some “leaks” revealed on the League of Legends subreddit. The info provided by the leaker showed the new champion “Aidyn” being of Frejlord origin. Well today, Riot released a Champion Reveal page for Pingu: The Guide, who wields the same gear shown in the Aidyn artwork.
As it turns out, though, Aidyn and Pingu are not actual champions. Aidyn was actually Pingu, and while Pingu’s official page seems legitimate at first glance, it quickly becomes apparent that this is just a prank.
Similar to other champion pages, a menu with Abilities, Background, and Extras is listed on the side. Besides that, Riot embedded YouTube videos highlighting Pingu’s abilities. In these (poorly drawn) videos, Riot explains Pingu’s abilities:
- Q: Splish Splash
- W: Icy Emprisonment
- E: Voidpoke/ Titanic Mark
- R: Blizzard of Doom
- Passive: Bird is The Word
Terrifying beast
With each ability, the page provides a description stating how the attacks work and what kind of slows or damage they come with. They all sound impressive, at least.
Below the ability description, there’s an intro to who Pingu is. According to the page, “Few have lived to tell the tale of this fearsome creature. Wherever Pingu emerges, he leaves behind a trail of destruction and a degree devastation [sic] only hinting at the bloody violence this wicked beast makes use of.” Of course, this seems to directly contradict how the page also gives Pingu the title of “League’s Cuddliest Champion”.
Additionally, it goes on to detail the background of this fearsome champion. Riot dives deep into his origins, stating that his background is completely unknown. Although there’s no actual info on his history, Riot connected some dots to create an impressive back story pointing to where he possibly came from. “Certain events are hinting at the possibility that Pingu entered Runeterra through The Void.”
The “Extras” section on the page, meanwhile, is simply a wallpaper with a post-it of Pingu in his terrifying gear.
Obviously, this is all an April Fools’ Day joke, but that hasn’t stopped Twitter fans from begging Riot to release Pingu as an actual League of Legends champion. The rift might need some cuteness, especially since Riot actually did release the Fiddlesticks rework as part of the newest patch today.
