Fortnite Returns to Android and iOS, but Not How You’d Expect

| | ,

It’s been a year and a half since folks could play Fortnite on their Android or iOS device. Nvidia announced today the drought is over, but not how you would expect.

Starting today, you can sign up for the limited-time Fortnite beta on Nvidia’s GeForce Now cloud gaming platform. The beta will allow Nvidia and Epic Games to see touch control performance and server capacity.

The beta will be invite-only and is free for everyone.

According to Nvidia, Fortnite will not be the only game with touch controls. The company said it will open functionality to any PC game developers willing to add touch controls to their titles.

This will allow Epic Games to bring Fortnite back to mobile devices. However, this is not the mobile version of the popular title — this is the PC version streamed to your device over the internet.

That means gameplay is entirely contingent on how strong your connection is.

It’s better than nothing, however. Fortnite has been absent from Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store since August 2020.

That is due to the ongoing legal battle between Apple and Epic Games. Epic Games argues Apple takes too much from app developers and makes it impossible for other app storefronts to compete.

Apple argues it keeps a tight grip on the App Store over safety concerns. It also said Epic Games knowingly violated App Store rules by allowing people to directly pay the company money for in-game currency.

As a result of the violation, Apple and Google took Fortnite off of their respective app storefronts.

Epic Games wants the game back on the Play Store and App Store. However, neither Apple nor Google look to do so anytime soon.

That means the next best thing could be GeForce Now. It’s available as an app on the Play Store and as a web app on iOS.

Williams Pelegrin

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.