Pokémon Go is the shock gaming hit of the year, but it shouldn't have come as a surprise.
More than two years ago, Google released a video for April Fools' Day previewing a game called Pokémon Challenge.
"Dozens of wild Pokémon have taken up residence on streets, amidst forests and atop mountains throughout Google Maps," the company said on April 1, 2014.
"To catch 'em all, grab your Poké Ball and the newest version of Google Maps for iPhone or Android. Then tap the search bar, 'press start' and begin your quest."
Sound familiar? That's because it's literally how Pokémon Go works. While Google's version of the game looks a lot better, it had the small advantage of not having to actually exist.
Niantic, the developer of the game, was at the time part of Google. It was spun out last year.
It's not the first time Google has made an April Fools' joke that turned out to be true. In 2004 it introduced its Gmail platform on April 1, promising users a gigabyte of free storage.
At the time, Microsoft's Hotmail service only gave users a measly two megabytes, and Yahoo mail, four.
Newshub.
