Epic Games reveals when ‘Fortnite’ will finally come to Android

By Mark Austin May 19, 2018

fortnite — Epic Games

Epic is getting ready to add another platform to the biggest game in the world. Fortnite: Battle Royale has been available for PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4 for some time, and it was released on mobile for iOS back in March. Android gamers won’t be left out in the storm for much longer, however, as the studio announced that they can soon join their iPhone-wielding friends and jump into the multiplayer carnage.

“We are targeting this summer for the release,” the developers wrote in a recent blog post. “We know many of you are excited for this release, and we promise that when we have more information to share, you’ll hear it from us first.” No more details about the Android version were provided.

Along with availability for Android devices, the team also announced a host of updates and improvements that are in the works. Voice chat will let you communicate with your friends or with everyone on the map. You’ll also be able to toggle various mute options with a simple touchscreen tap.

Epic has added a custom HUD feature as well, so you can use a template “blueprint” to place all the various icons on your screen to suit your liking.

An upcoming “battery saver” mode lowers the graphic quality, using less power for those times when your phone might not last until the end of the match. The studio also mentioned a host of improved gameplay controls, especially for the Autorun feature, but no details were given.

Fortnite quickly became number one with a bullet when it was released for iOS in March; with $15 million in sales in just 20 days, it easily surpassed such venerable stalwarts as Candy Crush and Pokémon Go. Since then, a comet impact has devastated the landscape in the game, leaving low-gravity shards in its wake to begin Season Four.

Only the free multiplayer Battle Royale mode is available for mobile, and that’s unlikely to change with the Android update. While you’re waiting, we’ve got some tips and strategies for playing the game on mobile that will give you a big edge on your friends when the game arrives later this year.

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Mark’s first encounter with high-tech was a TRS-80. He spent 20 years working for Nintendo and Xbox as a writer and…

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