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Between the fact that it’s free-to-play and that it can be downloaded on virtually any platform, Fortnite is a great game to play with friends. Here are three methods you can use to play Fortnite on your Chromebook.
Play Fortnite on Your Chromebook With GeForce Now
The best method of playing Fortnite on your Chromebook involves GeForce Now. This is ideal if you have a good internet connection but your Chromebook isn’t powerful enough to run Fortnite natively.
You canplay games on GeForce Now for freewith 1-hour sessions, or pay $10 per month ($50 per six months) for 6-hour gaming sessions. The Ultimate membership, which costs $20 per month ($100 per six months), allows for 8-hour gaming sessions and provides access to top-tier hardware.
Before you can stream Fortnite with GeForce Now, you’ll need to go to theNVIDIA websiteand create an account. Afterward, you can take the following steps to play Fortnite on your Chromebook:
You’re required to watch ads before you play Fortnite. If you’re using an adblocker or if your browser is set to block intrusive ads (Chrome does this by default), you will be kicked after reaching the end of the queue. If you don’t see ads, you’ll need to do some troubleshooting.
Overall, GeForce Now provides a decent gaming experience for Chromebook users. The Priority plan is decently priced and provides good performance, provided that you have an adequate internet connection. It allows you to bypass your hardware limitations.
The queue wait times weren’t problematic. They’re seemingly longest on weekends and in the evenings when users are arriving home from work and school, but even large queues seldom took longer than 30 minutes. Still, you can make it less agonizing by launching your game before you get snacks.
The main drawback to GeForce Now is that, even with the most expensive plan, there’s a limit to how long you’re allowed to play Fortnite. Both paid plans are less expensive upfront than a gaming PC, however, so they’re worth considering.
It’s apparently also common that launching from the GeForce Now app doesn’t work because ads don’t load. I experienced this issue, and solved it by launching Fortnite from theGeForce Nowwebsite and sending to the app after it launches.
Latency will vary depending on what server is closest to you, but I had no issues connecting and playing from a rural location. Main Stage or intense rounds of Battle Royale are easily playable, because lag spikes are rare enough to not impede gameplay.
And because I had access to the best hardware, I didn’t have any trouble spotting enemies at a distance. My cheap Chromebook was only required to stream gameplay, so I avoided dealing with all the usual lag and overheating that come with rendering.
Play Fortnite as an Android App on Your Chromebook
Another method of playing Fortnite on your Chromebook involves downloading and installing the Android APK. Truthfully, many Chromebooks will struggle to run Fortnite — but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun anyway.
There are a few hardware requirements your Chromebook will need to meet to run Fortnite, including:
Even if your Chromebook is slightly less powerful than the hardware recommendations suggest, you can give the installation a try. Here’s how you can install the Android edition of Fortnite on your Chromebook:
The main benefit of using the Fortnite Android app is that it runs natively for free. It’s an ideal solution if your Chromebook has decent hardware and you want to avoid paying for any subscriptions, especially if your Chromebook has a touchscreen.
This wasn’t my favorite method due to the poor performance and spotty device compatibility, but it’s worth a shot if you want to play long, free sessions on your Chromebook or suffer from slow internet speeds.
If the Epic Games store promptsdevice not supportedwhen you click on Fortnite, your device probably doesn’t meet specifications in some way.
Cast Fortnite to Your Chromebook With Chrome Remote Desktop
While using Chrome Remote Desktop to play Fortnite requires you to have another computer, it’s a decent solution if you want to play Fortnite on your Chromebook without being tethered to your PC.
Before you can cast Fortnite to your Chromebook, you’ll need to prepare touse Chrome Remote Desktopon both computers with the following steps:
Chrome Remote Desktop is a niche solution, since it requires owning another PC. But it’s a good option if you have an underpowered Chromebook, access to another computer, and a good internet connection.
Both the Android and GeForce methods were better than Chrome Remote Desktop in my experience, but this method is doable if you lack any other options. I found that the latency made it difficult to play any games, but Main Stage was particularly frustrating.
You may be able to increase performance by setting Chrome Remote Desktop as a high-priority task on your host device, but ultimately, performance will depend on your network and the two devices that you’re using to game.
No matter what method you end up using, remember that you’re not just limited to Fortnite. Using platforms like GeForce Now, the sky is the limit when it comes to gaming on your Chromebook.
