How to Play Fortnite on Chromebook [3 Easy Ways]

Chromebooks were never really meant for gaming—they are relatively inexpensive devices designed for online computing. However, they’ve evolved over time, and in recent years, we’ve seen a lot of gaming Chromebooks from different manufacturers.

It is important to understand that ChromeOS, the operating system powering most Chromebooks lacks extensive support for native PC gaming, but a few quick solutions can actually turn your low-end Chromebook into a full-fledged gaming machine, even handling demanding titles like Fortnite without any issues.

Why Can’t You Play Fortnite on Chromebooks Natively?

Since Chromebooks are synonymous with cheap, and often aging hardware, coupled with a lack of support for gaming-related tasks, most developers choose not to release their titles on Chromebooks. This is precisely why there is no Fortnite on ChromeOS.

Even if it somehow was available, a significant portion of the Linux userbase would likely be unable to play the game. Not to mention how devs would have to go through a lot of extra work to develop and optimize their games for a new platform, one that doesn’t support graphics APIs like DirectX and Vulkan – a move which may not be worth it if the game does not sell well.

Playing Fortnite on a Chromebook

Even if native Fortnite isn’t possible on a Chromebook, there are other workarounds and we’ve listed them below in order of easiest to least convenient:

1. Cloud Gaming (GeForce Now)

While Google’s own cloud gaming service, Stadia, has been discontinued, there are superior alternatives available, like GeForce Now. NVIDIA’s cloud gaming solution actually natively supports Fortnite, but you’ll need a subscription if you want to play for longer than an hour. Keep in mind that you do still need at least 4GB of RAM to smoothly run GeForce Now.

Cloud gaming is actually one of the lesser things that a Chromebook allows you to do. It’s important to note that you do need a good internet connection, and an external mouse for the best Fortnite experience.

To play Fortnite on your Chromebook using GeForce Now, follow the steps below:

1. Open Google Chrome on your Chromebook and head on over to the GeForce Now website.
2. Click the “Join” button located on the top right hand side of the webpage.

   

3. Choose your preferred plan, and create your account.

   

4. Now, head on over to Epic Games store and log in to your existing account if you already play Fortnite, else create a new one.

   

5. Search for Fortnite, and click on “GET.”

   

6. Come back to GeForce Now, and search for Fortnite. Add the game to your library.
7. Click on Play, and after a few seconds a rig will be allotted to you.

   

8. Then, you’ll be prompted to enter your Epic Games’ details.
9. The game will launch, and there you have it – Fortnite on a Chromebook.

SEE ALSO: How To Play Windows Games on Mac ➜

2. Chrome Remote Desktop

Since one of the major focus of Chromebooks is portability, there is a good chance that you probably already have a Windows PC alongside the Chromebook. If that PC is capable of running Fortnite, you could simply stream it over to your Chromebooks using Chrome Remote Desktop.

1. You’ll first need to install Chrome Remote Desktop on both your Windows PC and your Chromebook.

   

2. Open the app and click on “+ Generate Code” on your Chromebook. ON your PC, enter this code.

   

3. Now, your PC is connected to the Chromebook. Go ahead and launch Fortnite on your PC, and play the game via your Chromebook.

If you are considering using this method, be aware of the fact that the latency and stuttering may be too much for you to enjoy the game. In this case, you may be better off just playing on the main PC directly.

Bonus: Remote Play via Consoles

Similar to the remote desktop method above, if you have a console in your home, whether it’s an Xbox or a PlayStation, you can stream Fortnite from it to your Chromebook (though PlayStation has far better latency). Both Xbox and PlayStation have dedicated Remote Play apps that can be easily downloaded from the Play Store and there’s minimal setup—just pair the devices together to initiate the connection.

If you’re on PC but don’t want to use Chrome Remote Desktop, you can try Steam Link, which works exactly the same as the console remote play apps but instead it’s meant for Steam. Just download the Steam Link app, fire up Steam on your PC, pair your Chromebook and start cracking those 90s!

3. Sideloading the Fortnite APK File (ARM Chromebooks Only)

If you don’t want to avail the cloud gaming options to play Fortnite on your Chromebook, you can try sideloading the game. However, this is a complicated process that requires you to enable developer mode and erase all data on your device.

It’s important to note that this method is not compatible with Chromebooks running on Intel processors. There is also no guarantee that the game will even start on your device, even if you successfully sideload it. But still, if you want to do it, here’s how you can:

1. Turn on Developer Mode on your Chromebook, and enable Android Apps for ChromeOS.
2. Download an APK of the game from APKPure.

   

    
3. Once this is done, go to Settings > Google Play Store > Manage Android Preferences.
4. Tap on Security > Unknown Sources, and turn it On.
5. Run the APK on your Chromebook.

   

6. Click on Package Installer > Install.

   

7. Once Fortnite is installed, simply start playing the game. You might experience some jankiness with the controls but is should be playable.

   

Some of these screenshots were provided by Minks.

SEE ALSO: How To Play PC Games on your Android Phone ➜

Conclusion

If you’re thinking of buying a Chromebook to play Fortnite, we wouldn’t recommend it. Chromebooks are not designed for gaming, and you’ll get a much better experience on a Windows laptop or PC.

However, if you already own a Chromebook, you can still play Fortnite using GeForce Now. It allows you to pay a small price to stream games from powerful servers to your device. This means that you don’t need to spend tons on building a high-end system for yourself.

To summarize it all, cloud gaming is the easiest, safest, and most feasible way to play Fortnite on a Chromebook. It’s also a great option if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a gaming laptop. Google itself markets gaming Chromebooks as “built for cloud gaming.”