Participate in a game of Fortnite using an Apple product hasn’t been possible since late 2020. But thanks to Epic and Microsoft, it’s now not only possible, but free.
You still won’t find Fortnite on the App Store – Apple and Epic still don’t get along – but you’ll be able to stream the game using Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming service in your web browser, on your iPhone, iPad or Mac.
Microsoft and Epic have teamed up to make Fortnite free. So even if you’re playing on a PlayStation 5 or other device and don’t have an Xbox Live subscription, you can play Fortnite moving.
The getting started process is simple and only takes a few minutes to set up the first time. You will need to have a Microsoft account (you can create one for free here), and know your Fortnite/Epic account information. If you don’t want to use touch controls, make sure you have a controller handy. You can use an Xbox or PlayStation controller with Apple devices.
How to play Fortnite on your iPhone
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/ZDNet.
The first thing you need to do is add a shortcut to Xbox Cloud Gaming on your iPhone or iPad home screen. To do this, open Safari and go to xbox.com/play. For now, Fortnite is front and center on the main page. You should see a site prompt asking you to add Cloud Gaming to your home screen. If not, you can always add it by quickly pressing the button Sharethen selecting Add to home screen in the list of options. You can change the Cloud Gaming shortcut name if you want, but it’s not required. Press on Addthen return to your iPhone or iPad’s home screen and find the new icon.
Open Cloud Gaming (or whatever name you gave it), which should bring you to a page that looks exactly like the Xbox website we just visited. Select Play for free under the banner Fortnite at the top of the screen. Then press To log inthen sign in to your Microsoft account.
After logging in, press Player on the page Fortnite. Your Apple device will then start loading the game, with touch controls that look like an Xbox controller on the screen.
I’ve played a few games like this and my best advice for a good experience is to make sure you have a fast and reliable Wi-Fi connection (maybe even 5G?) – remember you’re streaming the game in real time, so any latency or lag is ultimately going to lead to a bad experience – and connecting a controller. Gamepad may be optional, but I’m old and don’t understand how people can play Fortnite with touch controls on the iPhone. The interface is just too cramped and confusing. And yet, I am using an iPhone 13 Pro max.
Source: ZDNet.com