Fortnite reaches 15 million Android downloads without Google Play

Enlarge / Disclaimer: Artist's conception. Do not play Fortnite while skydiving. Ars Technica and Epic Games will not be held liable for any injuries sustained jumping out of planes while playing the game. Void where prohibited.

In bringing Fortnite to Android this summer, Epic gambled that the biggest video game phenomenon in the world could find success without relying on the centralized Google Play storefront (and its 30 percent cut of all revenues). That gamble seems to have paid off so far-Epic reports 15 million Fortnite downloads and 23 million players on Android just 21 days after the game's beta release.

For context, the iOS version of the game saw roughly 11 million installations in its first month, according to analysis firm Sensor Tower, though the first two weeks of that period were a more limited "closed beta." It took the iOS version of Fortnite about three months to reach 100 million downloads, according to analysis firm Apptopia.

Technical hurdles

The Android launch numbers come directly from Epic, which goes on to detail the technical challenges of the Android port in a lengthy blog post.

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