We are about a fortnight away from the release of the Fortnite early access and there are a lot of things that seem a little bit unclear about the game. It is being called free to play, yet it costs money to buy. It releases on the 25th, but there is an early access to the early access. Here are some things you need to know about the game.
When does Fortnite Launch?
Fortnite will release worldwide on Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC on the 25th of July. If you purchase one of the special editions you will gain access to the Founders Pack. This will give you access to the game on the 21st. Early access to the early access. It is being called a “Head Start”, so there isn’t anything special about it, you just pay a little extra money to play the game before others get to play it.
So is this just an open beta that costs money? Yes, this is pretty much an open beta that you must pay for in order to help the development. It is going to leave a sour taste for some people, but you of course, do not have to purchase it if you are unhappy about this.
Why isn’t Fortnite Free?
This is the tricky one and it is most definitely going to cause some anger in the future. Fortnite is officially a free to play game, but the game is not officially being released yet. This is the “Early Access” release of the game. This early access is going to cost money, likely used to fund the rest of the games development. When the game officially releases in 2018, it will be a free to play game and will not cost any money to play. If you do not want to pay money for this game, wait until 2018, if you want to play it now, you need to pay a bit of money for it. The standard edition is quite cheap, but there does seem to be good value in purchasing a copy of the game that comes with the founders pack as the bonus in game items will be incredibly useful early on in the game.
Does Fortnite Support Cross Platform Play?
This is a common question and the answer is no. PS4 gamers will not be able to play with PC or Xbox Live, all platforms are isolated. This may change in the future and it is likely that PC and Xbox live will allow for cross play. Sony are strictly no crossplay, so it is unlikely we will ever see this.
There is cross platform progress enabled for the PS4 and PC though. This means if you gain a few levels and build up a character on the PS4, you can then log into the PC version of the game and all of your character progression will be available to you on the PC. This feature is not enabled on the Xbox Live version of the game.
Frequently Asked Questions
I found this video FAQ to be particularly helpful with a lot of common questions people have about the game. Watching over this video should get you up to speed with everything you need to know about the Fortnite early access. If you have any further questions, checkout the Fortnite FAQ on the site, where you can ask a question of your own.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nBsqXVdb2w