If the PUBG Mobile craze is dying down on you and wish to try out a new battle royale game then Fortnite Mobile must be your next stop. While iPhone users have enjoyed access to PUBG-rival Fortnite, Android smartphone owners have been in isolation. But as rumours anticipated, Fortnite Beta on Android finally arrived with the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, but it's not entirely exclusive as expected.
Fortnite Beta for Android smartphones is available for non-Samsung devices, but Epic Games is taking it slow. The beta version is only open to select players only after they've been invited by the developers to download the game.
While Samsung smartphones such as Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S8-series, Galaxy S9-series, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy Note 9, Tab S3 and S4, are eligible for Fortnite Beta for Android, the official website is accepting requests from non-Samsung users. Here are the phones that are currently supported for Android Beta version of Fortnite and can be used to request access to the game early:
- Google: 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
If you're using one of the above-mentioned smartphones, then all you need to do is go to Fortnite's official website, select your smartphone from the dropdown, login or create your account to play Fortnite and wait for the Fortnite team to send you a download link for the game.
It is entirely unclear how long will it take for an individual to get the Fortnite Installer link and instructions to download the game on Android smartphone, but the "email invites will start rolling out in the next few days" and Epic Games said that it would be "adding new players regularly as we support more devices."
How to download Fortnite Android?
In the case of PUBG Mobile, downloading the game begins with heading over to the Google Play Store. But Epic Games has decided against releasing Fortnite on Google's app store, which means users will have to download the game using an APK.
Even though Epic Games will share instructions on how to download Fortnite Beta on Android from its official website, the process is going to be pretty standard. Once the game is open to all, users can head to the official game's website and click download and choose Android instead of PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and iOS. The Android option is currently not available, but it is only a matter of days until it does.
Once you download the APK, the file must be moved to an Android smartphone for further installation. Navigate to the location where the APK file is placed and tap on it to install. Once the installation completes, users will be able to sign in and start playing.
Google's loss
Epic Games' decision to not list Fortnite on Play Store is a huge loss for Google. According to a report from SensorTower, Google could lose out on $50 million or more in fees. To put things in perspective, Fortnite for iOS has generated more than $180 million in revenue since its March debut and 30 percent of that goes to Apple, which adds up to $54 million.
PUBG to the rescue
But PUBG Mobile is filling the void for Google in the best way possible. Following the raving success of PUBG on Android, Tencent is testing out a lighter version of the game for low-end smartphones, which is soon to be released in India after some field tests.
With a 30MB size and certain limitations such as 40 players and a smaller map, PUBG Mobile Lite will still manage to get many players on board. It is interesting to see how the PUBG vs Fortnite battle pans out now that both games are pretty much available on all platforms. Stay tuned for up
