Is there a Fortnite app for Android and is it still in beta?
Fortnite have released an Android version of their survival-shooter hit, but there is some confusion about how to download the game for smartphone.
Back in August, Epic Games announced that they were launching an Android version of the wildly popular Battle Royale shooter. Initially, just for Samsung devices, although the release was later opened up to other smartphones.
Unlike most other game developers, the team behind Fortnite have decided to keep their title away from the Google Play store in an attempt to go direct to their fans.
Since Google take a 30 percent cut from all paid downloads out of the Play Store (they refer to this as the ‘store tax’) this certainly makes business sense and Epic Games have been less than coy about the financial incentives which led them to cut out the middleman.
So, how should Android users download the game and is the beta version still causing problems?
How do i download Fortnite for Android?
CREDIT: EPIC GAMES
To install the game on your phone, you’ll need to download the Fortnite Installer directly from Epic themselves.
Like every other version of the game, it’s free to install and play. Just make sure you navigate to Epic’s website and follow their instructions.
Is Fortnite Android still in beta?
Yes, the Android version is still in beta. It was only launched a few months ago and only very recently opened up to all users after implementing a waiting list for the first wave of users.
In theory, this means there may still be issues with the gameplay. There were reports of poor performance in August when the beta first launched, due to an issue with background applications on devices denying Fortnite the memory it needs to fun properly.
However, Epic Games must be feeling confident that they’ve fixed the majority of issues if they’ve been willing to make it available to everyone without a waiting list.
In a blog post from September, the developers went into lengthy detail about the challenges they faced in making such a complex game work across so many different devices.
But well over a month has passed since then and the wider Android release can be read as a sign that Epic are getting to grips with those technical challenges.
So whilst this game is still in beta, and your playing experience will be significantly improved the more up-to-date your smartphone is, there’s no reason not to download and join the fray.
