Fortnite, one of the most popular battle royale games, is finally making a comeback on Android and iOS devices, courtesy of Microsoft. Starting right away, users can play Fortnite for free on practically any device through the Xbox Cloud Gaming service. Interestingly, while Fortnite is the first free-to-play game to hit Microsoft’s cloud platform, the company says more titles are to come.
Microsoft said users in 26 countries can use Xbox Cloud Gaming to play Fortnite for free. However, they will first need a Microsoft account and, of course, access to the Internet. It also supports gamepads and controllers, ensuring that your Fortnite experience is familiar enough.
Since the Fortnite app is still not available on the Play Store or Apple’s App Store, gamers will have to resort to playing the game on their web browser. It also means that Fortnite is now playable on devices like Valve Stream Deck.
NVIDIA’s Phil Eisler Says Fortnite Will Launch Soon on GeForce Now With Touch Controls and Other Additions
Fortnite was already available to play through the NVIDIA GeForce Now service, though in a closed beta. But this new announcement in partnership with Microsoft expands the title’s reach even further. Of course, this is not the same as having games available on the Mobile App Hub. But it is definitely a start.
As The Verge points out, this can be an excellent starting point for free-to-play games on Xbox Cloud Gaming. Microsoft is hoping to bring some of these Fortnite players to its dedicated subscription service, Xbox Game Pass.
NVIDIA is fairly optimistic about this new move, at least according to GeForce Now chief Phil Eisler. We believe that all games should be playable on any device and see today’s announcement as an exciting one for all gamers! We are fully committed to streaming Fortnite with Touch Controls, Streaming with GeForce Performance on GeForce Now We are working with Epic to launch. Stay tuned for updates coming soon, Eisler said in a statement.
Fortnite developer Epic Games has a rocky history with Microsoft. So the new partnership has certainly surprised us. For context, the lengthy legal battle between Epic and Apple revealed that the former opted not to bring Fortnite to Xbox Cloud Gaming. Epic’s VP of business development, Joe Kraner, said at the time, “We saw Microsoft’s efforts with xCloud to be competitive with its PC offerings.”
