Fortnite is playable through Xbox Cloud Gaming for free

iPhone owners get another option for Fortnite

It just got a little bit easier to play Fortnite just about anywhere. Xbox and Epic announced today that Fortnite is now freely available via Xbox Cloud Gaming, through supported browser-enabled devices.

Fortnite is playable through the Xbox Cloud Gaming beta in 26 countries. And most notably, it’s free; all you’ll need is a Microsoft account and an iOS, iPadOS, Android phone or tablet, or Windows PC. With that done, just head over to the Xbox play site and sign-in, then start dropping.

Notably, this doesn’t require a subscription to Xbox Game Pass. While previously you could play Fortnite through a Game Pass Ultimate sub, this makes Fortnite access through Xbox Cloud Gaming completely free. It’s also playable through either native touch controls or a supported controller, if you’ve got one of those for your phone.

It’s a big step, and apparently not the last one for Microsoft. The company says in today’s announcement that starting with Fortnite, they’re looking to bring more free-to-play games in. No specifics on which games, but it’s an interesting proposition, especially because of the browser aspect. Rather than needing a console, you just need a decent connection and the phone in your pocket.

Renewing the battle royale

It’s also big news for iPhone users who have had some trouble playing Fortnite. Ever since the big Epic-Apple spat went down, Fortnite has been delisted from the App Store. When that changes is anyone’s guess, but this Xbox workaround gives players the option to get back on the Fortnite train on their phones, at the least.

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney shared the news, saying “no subscription required, no 30% Apple Tax.” It seems to be a good day for iOS Fortnite fans. And as for Microsoft’s further plans in the free-to-play space, it’ll be interesting to see what other games they look to get enabled on the cloud.