‘Fortnite is back on Google Play’ — the battle royale has finally returned to the Android app store for everyone, but players haven’t forgotten about the V-Bucks price hikes

• Fortnite will relaunch on the Google Play Store globally on March 19
• It was booted from the platform back in August 2020
• March 19 is the same day V-Buck price hikes are happening

Almost six years ago Fortnite was booted from the Google Play Store. On March 19, it’ll finally be back on the Android storefront globally.

It has been possible to download Fortnite on Android through third-party means such as the Epic Games store for mobile, or it could be streamed through services like Amazon Luna or Xbox Cloud Gaming, but this Play Store return will make the game much easier to access.

It’s the default Android app store, doesn’t require you to click through any warnings of increased risk that could come with third-party installs, or to subscribe to any services.

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According to the Play Store page you won’t just be returning to the Battle Royale modes — you’ll get the full experience. This includes Lego Fortnite, Fortnite OG, Festival, and all of the same creator-made multiplayer worlds that are accessible through Fortnite on PC or consoles.

It also seems mobile players will be dropping straight into the new Chapter 7 Season 2 Showdown season.

Unfortunately they’ll also be exposed to the updated higher V-Buck prices — from March 19 a standard pack of 1,000 V-Bucks will only give you 800 V-Bucks for the same price.

Epic Games is likely hoping this full-on return to Android will help alleviate player frustrations about rising costs, though if the chaotic X replies to its announcement post is anything to go a section of its audience is still hyper-focused on the higher costs – such as one on the nose comment asking Epic to “Revert V-Bucks and crew pack” with a gif showing an elephant in a room with the words “Address me.”

I for one am very excited by this news. My first ‘proper’ paid writing gig was covering Fortnite (and some other battle royales) and while I have fallen off considerably since that time where I played too many hours a day I do jump back in on occasion, and I imagine I’ll be tempted to jump back in a lot more if it’s as convenient as pressing an app icon on my Z Fold 7 or S26 Ultra.

The question remains, however, of when Epic Games’ battle royale will return in full to Apple’s App Store for iPhone users. It’s there for folks in the US, and the Epic Games Store marketplace can be accessed on iPhones in the EU, but many regions (the UK included) can’t access the game except via cloud streaming. Hopefully this is a sign that might change soon.

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Hamish is a Senior Staff Writer for TechRadar and you’ll see his name appearing on articles across nearly every topic on the site from smart home deals to speaker reviews to graphics card news and everything in between. He uses his broad range of knowledge to help explain the latest gadgets and if they’re a must-buy or a fad fueled by hype. Though his specialty is writing about everything going on in the world of virtual reality and augmented reality.