What is Fortnite, Battle Royale, and where do you download it | Everything you need to know
It's been 6 years since Fortnite was first announced by Cliff Bleszinski, who was still working at Epic at the time. It was to be a departure from the Gears of War series that had been one of Epic Games' most successful series, towards a more open-ended experience about survival. 6 years later, and with a somewhat confusing development cycle, it's now available as a paid early access title, with a free to play full release coming next year. Its release as an early access version came as somewhat of a surprise, so it's fair if you don't know what's going on. Add on to that its explosion in popularity with a free Battle Royale mode, akin to PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), and it's probably a good time to find out what it is.
What is Fortnite?
Humanity has, mostly, disappeared. You're part of the 2% that remain, who are faced with giant storms that create zombie-like creatures (we'll just call them zombies from here on for clarity, but they're technically called Husks) which attack the remnants of humanity. The survivors now work together to fend of the zombies, by building bases and, well, killing zombies.
By mining materials, either from natural sources in the world or by taking apart buildings that once housed humanity, you can get resources to build structures during the day, fending off zombies during the night. Over time, you can level up and complete missions to get more skills and rewards. There's also limited time events like Survive The Storm, with greater challenges and rewards for skilled and high level players.
What is Fortnite Battle Royale?
A play on the original Battle Royale concept, popularised by the Japanese film Battle Royale (based on the book of the same name by Koushun Takami), it pits 100 players against each other on a large island, as they parachute (technically glide) in from a floating 'battle bus'. The last person standing wins, and players must kill each other with scavenged weapons while constantly moving towards a safe zone. The winner receives an umbrella, which is used in place of the glider when starting a match.
It's coming off the back of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds' popularity, and shares many similarities with the game, so if you've played PUBG, you'll probably get to grips with Fornite Battle Royale very quickly. Fortnite Battle Royale, unlike the base Fortnite game, is already free to play, and you can jump in right now.
How to download Fortnite Battle Royale?
On PC
To get Fortnite Battle Royale on PC, it's pretty simple. Just go to the official website, sign up or log in with an Epic Games account, and you're good to go with the download. It's not available through Steam.
On PlayStation 4
For PS4 players, navigate the PlayStation Store and look for Fortnite Battle Royale, which is free. From there, add it to your basket, confirm 'purchase', and get downloading! You can also do this from your PC, on the web version of the PlayStation Store.
On Xbox One
Similarly to on a PS4, you'll have to search for Fortnite Battle Royale in the store. It should be labelled as free, unlike the paid Fortnite editions which are for the base game. You can also do this in your browser.
What about cross-platform play?
It appears that cross-platform play is coming to Fortnite at some point in the future, presumably in both its base and Battle Royale modes, but it hasn't been enabled yet. There was a bug in September 2017 when cross-platform play between PC, PS4, and Xbox One was enabled, although that has since been fixed.
What are the microtransactions in Fortnite Battle Royale?
If you want to make your character look especially snazzy, you can pay for cosmetic items in Fortnite Battle Royale that change your appearance, but have no bonuses to combat.
When is Fortnite coming out?
Fortnite is being released in 2018, although the exact date isn't confirmed. At that point, Fortnite will no longer be a paid game, and will become free to play. Fortnite Battle Royale is already released for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.