You can now play Fortnite on iPhone and iPad for free with just a Microsoft account via Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming over-the-air service.
- Fortnite has been added to the Xbox Cloud Gaming catalog. You can play it for free in a web browser on an iPhone or iPad using just a Microsoft account.
- You can play the game with native touch controls or a supported controller.
- More free-to-play titles will be coming to Xbox Cloud Gaming in the future.
Fortnite joins Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming service
The free-to-play game is available on Xbox Cloud Gaming starting today, the Windows maker said in an announcement published on the Xbox Wire page. Epic Games isn’t the only developer that Microsoft has partnered up with to offer free-to-play titles. Affording to the announcement, the team is looking forward to adding more free-to-play games to the Xbox Cloud Gaming catalog in the future.
How to play Fortnite on iPhone and iPad for free
If you live in one of the 26 countries where Xbox Cloud Gaming is available, you can play Fortnite on an iPhone, iPad, Android device or Windows PC either with native touch controls or a supported controller. No subscription is required to play Fortnite, just a Microsoft account. As an over-the-air service, Xbox Cloud Gaming requires no installation. Simply point your browser to xbox.com/play and sign in with your Microsoft account to play Fortnite for free on iOS, iPadOS, Android or Windows.
Other ways to play Fortnite on Apple’s mobile devices
Fortnite has been unavailable on Apple’s mobile platforms since Apple removed the popular title from its App Store in August 2020, citing guideline violations. Its arrival on Xbox Cloud Gaming is the first time since August 20202 that Apple fans can play a touch-optimized version of the game on their iPhone or iPad. The PC version of Fortnite is also available on iOS and iPadOS through GeForce Now, Nvidia’s cloud-gaming subscription service which runs natively on Apple silicon. Now, the graphics giant has also promised a proper touch-optimized version of Fortnite, but it’s currently nowhere to be seen on the company’s GeForce Now service. Read: How to live stream to Twitch from iPhone, iPad and Mac
What is Xbox Cloud Gaming?
Xbox Cloud Gaming (formerly Project xCloud) is Microsoft’s cloud-gaming service that uses the power of the internet to deliver gameplay remotely. All computations in the game are server-side, with your device acting as a dumb terminal for displaying gameplay video stream, processing controls and sending your input to the server. You also need a fast internet connection, with low latency being a crucial factor to enjoy fast-paced action games such as Fortnite. Xbox Cloud Gaming is currently in beta, so hiccups are possible and shouldn’t be frowned upon. Read: How to get notified of new Apple Arcade games