In new interviews published today, Epic Games shed more light on its plans for the Android version of Fortnite. In addition to confirming that the game would not be available on the Google Play marketplace and would instead be offered through the Epic website, the studio also discussed the devices that it will support. Unfortunately, the new information may disappoint some fans of the game.

Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney notes that with the Android operating system, there is "a huge variety of OS versions and also a much wider range of hardware specs than any other device family." In order to ensure that Fortnite is the same game on all platforms - including consoles and high-end PCs - Epic has specifically focused on "high-end Android devices." According to Sweeney, this means that "of the 2.5 billion Android devices in the world or so, 300 million will run it well," which means that roughly 12% of Android devices will be capable of running Fortnite properly.

Sweeney goes on to explain that the version of Android that a device is running isn't a "determining factor." Instead, Epic has looked at the actual technical specs of a device, including the CPU and GPU. As such, says the Epic executive, "any device from up to three years ago with a high-end GPU should run the game pretty well."

The fact that Epic is so focused on high-end Android devices is perhaps why Fortnite Android is rumored to be exclusive to the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 at launch. While the exclusivity deal helps Samsung establish its handset as a powerful mobile gaming system, it also helps Epic show off the strength of its game engine and showcases Fortnite running as smoothly as possible.

In the future, the decision not to optimize the game for less-powerful Android devices may also help Epic roll out new Fortnite features. One of the reasons why Pokemon GO ended support for some iOS devices is because developer Niantic wanted to keep pushing the experience further. Old devices would only hold the game and its developer back.

Epic may well be thinking along those same lines. That will be very disappointing for the many Android device owners who will miss out on the Fortnite fun, but for the 12% whose devices will be capable of running the game, this could benefit them immensely.

Fortnite is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and iOS devices. A release on Android is expected later this summer.

Source: VentureBeat