Fortnite NOT coming to Android app store as most gamers face a much longer wait than expected
FORTNITE is already on iPhone, and it's about to land on Android smartphones too – but most Android users may have quite a long wait before they get to play it.
We already knew that Fortnite for Android was expected to be exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 for 30 days after the new phone launches in August -- and it is now being suggested that once those 30 days are up, it will only be available on other Samsung devices , according to a source who spoke to AndroidHeadlines.
That's not the only complication.
Epic Games has also confirmed the game WON'T be on Google's App Store, with Epic CEO Tim Sweeney blaming the "30 per cent store tax", a reference to the cut of all app sales Google takes.
Eager gamers will have to download the official installer from Epic directly instead.
After the exclusivity period ends, Epic says that roughly one in ten Android phones in the wild will be able to run Fortnite.
"Fortnite requires a recent high-end Android smartphone," Sweeney . "Fortnite brings the game's full PC and console experience to Android; of the roughly 2.5 billion Android devices, we estimate around 250 million are Fortnite-ready."
Some handsets are simply too old, or lacking the necessary computing horsepower to handle the game.
If you've just forked out on a powerful new blower, you'll probably be fine.
But if you're using particularly old (or particularly cheap) models, you might find yourself unable to play.
After that, Fortnite will be opened up to a list of white-listed devices that have passed rigorous testing by Epic Games.
That list, according to the Epic Games website, reads as follows:
- Google Pixel 2
- Google Pixel 2 XL
- Huawei Mate 10
- Huawei Mate 10 Lite
- Huawei Mate 10 Pro
- Huawei P10
- Huawei P10 Plus
- Huawei P10 Lite
- Huawei P9
- Huawei P9 Lite
- Huawei P8 Lite (2017)
- LG G6
- LG V30
- LG V30+
- Motorola Moto E4 Plus
- Motorola Moto G5
- Motorola Moto G5 Plus
- Motorola Moto G5s
- Motorola Moto Z2 Play
- Nokia 6
- Razer Phone
- Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
- Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
- Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime (2017)
- Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro (2017)
- Samsung Galaxy Note 8
- Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (expected)
- Samsung Galaxy On7 (2016)
- Samsung Galaxy S7
- Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
- Samsung Galaxy S8
- Samsung Galaxy S8+
- Samsung Galaxy S9
- Samsung Galaxy S9+
- Sony Xperia XA1
- Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra
- Sony Xperia XA1 Plus
- Sony Xperia XZ
- Sony Xperia XZs
- Sony Xperia XZ1
There are a few notable omissions from this list, of course.
For instance, no smartphone models from HTC or OnePlus have been included, despite both brands being very popular.
It's also interesting to see Motorola Moto G smartphones making the cut, because they're quite cheap – a Moto G5 costs £149.
We're similarly surprised by the lack of support for the original Google Pixel and Pixel XL phones, launched back in 2016.
What is Fortnite Battle Royale?
If you're new to the game, here's what you need to know
- Fortnite's Battle Royale is free-to-play
- It's available on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, Mac, iPhone and most recently Nintendo Switch
- In the game, up to 100 players are dropped onto a fictional island
- Players are then forced to battle it out in a last-person-standing deathmatch
- To help, players can collect a range of weapons hidden all over the island
- You can also collect resources – like wood, bricks and metal – to build defensive structures
- The area you can play in on the island is constantly shrinking thanks to an encroaching storm
- This means players are forced together over time, until just one person survives
- The game also has a paid-for co-op story campaign
Both are technically more powerful than Motorola's budget range, but aren't supported.
In any case, Android gamers will likely feel peeved by the fact that iPhone owners have been playing Fortnite for months.
Fortnite for mobile was first announced back in March this year, and became available to all iPhone owners on April 2.
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But Android has been a much slower battle, largely because it's tougher to make sure the game works right.
All iPhones work in largely the same way and (because they're expensive) have powerful hardware.
But there are tens of thousands of different Android phones, all with different specs – making it a nightmare to develop a console game for Android mobiles.
The good news is that it's likely we're just a few weeks away from the official Fortnite on Android launch.
Does your Android phone make the cut? If not, would you be willing to upgrade to a new blower just to play Fortnite? Let us know in the comments!
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