The battle-royale game, Fortnite by Epic Games has been a hit with gamers. It made its way to iOS, even passing 100 million downloads. However, Android users were left out, but now, the Android beta is out and here’s everything you need to know.
Where is it available?
The Fortnite Beta launched for Android along with the Note 9 on August 9th. You can sign up for the beta on your Android device here. The beta was exclusive to Samsung devices for a while, but now non-Samsung users have started receiving invites. Players are being invited in waves, so it still may take time to receive an invite. You’ll be notified by email when you receive it.
After the beta, it will not be available on the Play Store, where Google takes a 30% cut on in-app purchases. Personally, this move by Epic just poses a security risk for novice Android users. Kids will be googling “Fortnite APKs” and malware-ridden APKs will be floating everywhere. It’s a risky move, certainly, considering Epic’s app is completely capable of being made available on Google Play.
Moreover, Note 9 and Galaxy Tab S4 users will get access to a special Galaxy outfit in the in-game Fortnite store. Also, those who preorder the Note 9 will have the option of receiving 15,000 V-bucks instead of the included AKG headphones.
How can I play it right now?
Because Samsung is an exclusive, Fortnite is available to download right now on the Galaxy Apps store. And you can even grab the Fortnite Installer APK and Fortnite for Android APK from APKMirror. However, the APKs only seem to work for supported Samsung devices right now.
Luckily, the geniuses at XDA have put together a modded Fortnite APK that disables the device check. However, there’s a chance that your account could be banned or kicked from games, so it’s highly recommended that you use a backup or throwaway account. Furthermore, your device must pass SafetyNet and have ADB disabled to play the game. You can download the modded APK here.
What devices support it?
Despite previous rumors, Epic is not making it exclusive to the Note 9 for a period of 30 days but rather “for the next few days.” After that, the Android Beta will be available for all of the following devices:
| Samsung Galaxy | S7 / S7 Edge, S8 / S8+, S9 / S9+, Note 8, Note 9, Tab S3, Tab S4 |
| Pixel / Pixel XL, Pixel 2 / Pixel 2 XL | |
| Asus | ROG Phone, Zenfone 4 Pro, 5Z, V |
| Essential | PH-1 |
| Huawei | Honor 10, Honor Play, Mate 10 / Pro, Mate RS, Nova 3, P20 / Pro, V10 |
| LG | G5, G6, G7 ThinQ, V20, V30 / V30+ |
| Nokia | 8 |
| OnePlus | 5 / 5T, 6 |
| Razer | Phone |
| Xiaomi | Blackshark, Mi 5 / 5S / 5S Plus, 6 / 6 Plus, Mi 8 / 8 Explorer / 8SE, Mi Mix, Mi Mix 2, Mi Mix 2S, Mi Note 2 |
| ZTE | Axon 7 / 7s, Axon M, Nubia / Z17 / Z17s, Nubia Z11 |
The devices below are currently unsupported, but fixes are being worked on:
| HTC | 10, U Ultra, U11 / U11+, U12+ |
| Lenovo | Moto Z / Z Droid, Moto Z2 Force |
| Sony Xperia | XZ / XZs, XZ1, XZ2 |
If your phone is not on the list, your phone may be able to run it if you have the following specs:
- OS: 64 bit Android, 5.0 or higher
- RAM: 3GB or higher
- GPU: Adreno 530 or higher, Mali-G71 MP20, Mali-G72 MP12 or higher
Are there any limitations?
- Bluetooth controllers are not supported on the beta. Support will come later.
- The game mode ‘save the world’ will not come to mobile devices since it uses much more memory and CPU power than battle royale.
- You cannot use a mouse and keyboard, and if you do, you will be removed from the match.
- For now, there is no voice chat like in PUBG Mobile. It will be added later.
- Rooted devices are not supported. Epic says that they will look into possibly supporting rooted devices in the future, but only if they can find “effective anti-cheat solutions.”
Source: Fortnite FAQs
