https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/01/pokemon-go-and-the-april-fools-joke-that-made-billions/

It’s the morning of March 31st, 2014, and the Google Maps team is about to release its April Fools’ Day gag to the world.

It wasn’t the first time this team had goofed around with an April Fools’ day joke. Google, as a whole, goes wild on April 1st. Maybe it’s for the resulting publicity. Maybe it’s to make the brand seem a little more fun. Maybe it’s to give employees a creative outlet that doesn’t seem so mission critical. It’s probably a mix of all three.