Fortnite for Android Released, But Make Sure You Don’t Download Malware
Yes, it is official. The massively popular battle royale video game from Epic Games, Fortnite: Battle Royale is finally available for Android devices.
Epic announced Thursday that the Android version of Fortnite is now available for everyone to download for free, so you no longer require an invite to play the most popular battle royale game on your phone.
Epic Games have provided a list of supported Android phones on its official website, from where you can directly download Fortnite for your compatible device.
Initially available for a brief period as a Samsung Galaxy Note 9 exclusive title, Fortnite: Battle Royale for Android was later opened up to other Android devices, but users still needed an invitation for the beta to play.
Thankfully, you no longer need an invitation. Now all Android users can download the game, provided they have a compatible device (see end of the article for supported devices).
Fortnite for Android Not Available on Google Play Store
For those unaware, Fortnite is not available for download on the Google Play App Store or any third-party website. Instead, the game can only be downloaded manually via the official Epic Games Fortnite page.
So, if you see something on the Play Store or on the Internet that claims to be Fortnite APK, just skip it. It’s almost certainly malware, spyware, or other potentially dangerous software that could end up infecting or taking control of your Android phone.
The company decided to skip the Google Play Store for generating more revenue for the company. But the move raised concerns over the potential security risks of offering an APK on a third-party website, risking Android users security by escaping the built-in protections provided by Play Store.
Installing the Fortnite app manually means that users will need to take care of their security themselves, making sure they are downloading the game from the official source.
Here’s How to Download Fortnite for Android Devices
Before beginning, make sure your smartphone can handle the game because it’s a heavy game. You can find a list of officially supported Android devices here.
To get started, head over to either fortnite.com/android from your Android smartphone or this page from your desktop computer and then use your smartphone or tablet to scan the QR code that appears on your screen.
From there, you can download the Fortnite Installer, either from Samsung if you are using a Samsung device or from Epic Games. Pull down the notification panel and tap the download link when it’s finished.
Here’s where the process awaits
When Fortnite installer launches, Android will likely block it by default, since Google does not allow you to install apps from unauthorized sources to prevent you from malware and other malicious software, which is a good practice.
So, as soon as you open the Fortnite Installer, your device will display a pop-up message saying, “For your security, your phone is not allowed to install unknown apps from this source,” with two buttons at the bottom: ‘Cancel’ or ‘Settings.’
To install the game, tap the Settings button. This will open the Settings menu, where you need to allow apps to be installed from unknown sources (aka “sideloading”).
Now jump back to the Fortnite Installer, and tap Install. Once the Fortnite Launcher gets installed, you will need to download the additional 90MB game file by clicking on the Install button.
Fortnite will launch, but you are not finished yet—the game will ask you to download another gigabyte of the file to download on its first launch. Once that’s completed, you will be ready to play Fortnite.
Supported Devices:
- Samsung Galaxy: S7 / S7 Edge , S8 / S8+, S9 / S9+, Note 8, Note 9, Tab S3, Tab S4
- 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
- HTC: 10, U Ultra, U11/ U11+, U12+
- Lenovo: Moto Z/Z Droid, Moto Z2 Force
- Sony: Xperia XZ/Premium, Xzs, XZ1/Compact, XZ2/Premium/Compact, XZ3
Sources: TheHackerNews, GameSpot
