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Fortnite Android App Release Date, Beta Invites, and More: What the Leaks and Headlines Say

Fortnite Android App Release Date, Beta Invites, and More: What the Leaks and Headlines Say

By Rishi Alwani | Updated: 8 August 2018 17:35 IST

Highlights

Fortnite for Android could be out this month
It may be a Samsung Galaxy series exclusive for upto 120 days
It will not be available on Google Play

After gracing the PS4, Xbox One, iOS, and Nintendo Switch, Fortnite is slated for Android. Unlike most Android games, Fortnite Mobile is skipping Google Play. Instead developer Epic Games has confirmed that it would be releasing what it calls the Fortnite Installer on its site for you to download and sideload on your Android device. What Epic Games hasn't confirmed though are the finer details like the Fortnite Mobile for Android release date or device compatibility list. However thanks to a host of leaks there's enough to go by. Here's what you can expect when the world's most popular game is out on Android.

Fortnite Mobile for Android release date

Officially, Epic Games has said you can expect Fortnite Android this summer with cross-platform play coming at a later date. According to multiple leaks however, it should be playable in August albeit with a catch. The game is reportedly a timed exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and Tab S4. With the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 heavily rumoured to have an August 24 release date - it’s being unveiled on Thursday - this could very well be when you can get a chance to check out Fortnite Mobile on Android.

If you don't plan on buying a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 or Tab S4, you may have to wait upto 120 days as it would reportedly be coming to the Samsung Galaxy family of devices 30 days after release, where it would stay until late November or early December.

How to download Fortnite Mobile for Android

While Fortnite for Android won't be on the Google Play Store, you can get it via the Fortnite Installer. What this means is, you'll have to go to the official Fortnite site on your smartphone browser and download the Fortnite Installer APK file. But before that here's what you should do:

On your phone go to Settings.
Tap on Security (also labelled as Privacy on some devices).
Go to Unknown sources.
Tap Allow for the installation of apps from unknown sources. This will allow you to install Fortnite Android.
On your phone, download Fortnite Android from here.
Now simply go to the Downloads folder on your phone and install it.

Why avoid Google Play? According to Epic CEO Tim Sweeney, it's so the developer can have a "direct relationship with our customers on all platforms where that's possible", and to avoid "the 30 percent 'store tax".

"It's a high cost in a world where game developers' 70 percent must cover all the cost of developing, operating, and supporting their games," Sweeney explained. "And it's disproportionate to the cost of the services these stores perform, such as payment processing, download bandwidth, and customer service.

"We're intimately familiar with these costs from our experience operating Fortnite as a direct-to-customer service on PC and Mac," he added.

That said, it may be available on third-party app stores such as Samsung Galaxy Apps.

Fortnite Mobile for Android specifications/ minimum requirements
As per Android enthusiasts tinkering with the API Epic uses to decide what Fortnite promotions and services an Epic account is entitled to and the output of said API, it appears that you'll need a rather recent Android device if you plan to play the mobile version of Fortnite on Google's OS.

Here are the rumoured minimum requirements needed to run Fortnite Mobile on Android:

OS: 64-bit Android 5.0 Lollipop or higher
RAM: 3GB or higher
GPU: Adreno 530 or higher, Mali-G71 MP20, Mali-G72 MP12 or higher

If this is correct, it would mean that like other Unreal Engine games, it's more GPU than CPU limited. Most devices with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 and Samsung Exynos 8895 or higher should be able to play Fortnite Mobile.

This as further backed up by those with access to a leaked Fortnite APK that confirms Fortnite Android won't run on mid-range and budget Android smartphones at launch. Fortnite Android reportedly won't support any MediaTek or Nvidia Tegra SoCs at launch. Furthermore, most Qualcomm, HiSilicon, and Samsung chips such as the Snapdragon 660, Kirin 659, and Exynos 7885 will supposedly not be able to run the game either.

What this means is, mid-range smartphones such as the Xiaomi Mi A2, Honor 9N, and Samsung Galaxy A8 may not be able to run Fortnite. Do remember that these are just rumours at the point and we should know more when Fortnite for Android is officially announced.

With that in mind, it is quite possible that Epic Games may optimise the game further for greater compatibility across the broad spectrum of Android devices, seeing how the Nintendo Switch can run the game (albeit poorly), we won't be surprised to see the Fortnite Mobile for Android compatibility list increase over time.

Fortnite Android compatible device list
And what conflicts the above information from the game's APK is the source code of Epic's own Fortnite sign-up page. It has a list of Android devices supported. Most of them fall into the range of a Samsung Galaxy S7 or above, but some like the Nokia 6 and the Moto E4 Plus are outliers. Epic Games itself has denied that this could be the official Fortnite Android compatible device list.

“We haven’t announced anything in regards to support for specific Android devices. This list does not come from Epic Games and should be disregarded. The only real information you’ll find will come from official sources -- fortnite.com and other owned Epic channels," an Epic Games had told Gadgets 360 at the time.

Google Pixel 2 / XL
Huawei Mate 10 / Pro / Lite
Huawei Mate 9 / Pro
Huawei P10 / P10 Plus / P10 Lite
Huawei P9 / P9 Lite
Huawei P8 Lite (2017)
LG G6 LG V30 / V30
Motorola Moto E4 Plus
Motorola Moto G5 / G5 Plus / G5S
Motorola Moto Z2 Play
Nokia 6
Razer Phone
Samsung Galaxy A5 (2017)
Samsung Galaxy A7 (2017)
Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime / Pro / 2017
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
Samsung Galaxy On7 (2016)
Samsung Galaxy S9 / S9+
Samsung Galaxy S7 / S7 Edge
Samsung Galaxy S8 / S8+
Sony Xperia XA1 / Ultra / Plus
Sony Xperia XZ / XZs / XZ1

Fortnite Installer download size
The Fortnite Installer itself is a mere 2MB download. But if the total Fortnite file size is any indication on other mobile versions of the game such as iOS and Nintendo Switch, expect Fortnite Mobile for Android to have a total download size of 2GB, if not more.

How to signup for Fortnite Mobile for Android invite

It's unclear if Epic Games would follow a similar invite-only approach to Fortnite Android like it did for the iOS version of the game. If so, this is what it could be like if Fortnite iOS was any indication:

Sign up on the official Fortnite website for a Fortnite Mobile for Android invite event.
When you are invited, you will receive an email with a link to download the game.
Epic has stated that players receiving an invite will be able to invite their friends as well so if you don't get one, you can ask your friends or check the Fortnite subreddit for a spare code.

Are you looking forward to Fortnite? Let us know in the comments.

If you're a fan of video games, check out Transition, Gadgets 360's gaming podcast. You can listen to it via Apple Podcasts or RSS, or just listen to this week's episode by hitting the play button below.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9

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KEY SPECS
NEWS
Variants

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
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Bad
Heavy and bulky
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Read detailed Samsung Galaxy Note 9 review

Display 6.40-inch

Processor Samsung Exynos 9810

Front Camera 8-megapixel

Rear Camera 12-megapixel

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Storage 128GB

Battery Capacity 4000mAh

OS Android 8.1

Resolution 1440x2960 pixels

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Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
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Bad
Outdated internals
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Display 10.50-inch

Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 835

Front Camera 8-megapixel

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RAM 4GB

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Storage 64GB

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Battery Capacity 7300mAh

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