How to play Fortnite with Macbook Air? Here’s everything you need to know.
With millions of active players each month, Fortnite is one of the most popular battle royale video games. However, Apple fans have been unable to access the game for the past two years due to a lawsuit between Epic Games and Apple, which resulted in the Cupertino company removing the game from its App Store.
Due to Fortnite’s removal from the App Store, iOS and macOS users are unable to update the game to access the game’s latest features and seasonal releases. That means you can’t play Fortnite on Apple’s mobile or desktop platforms.
There are, however, some workarounds you can use to play Fortnite on your Mac. We’ll show you how to play Epic Games’ well-known battle royale game on a Mac in the section below.
How to Play Fortnite on Macbook Air: Install Windows Bootcamp
Boot Camp is one of the most popular methods for installing Windows operating systems on a Mac. In this case, you can certainly run Windows 10 or 11 on your Mac and play Fortnite without any problems.
Keep in mind, however, that Macs with Apple’s Silicon chip do not support traditional Boot Camp x86 Windows installations. That means you can’t use Boot Camp Assistant to install Windows on a Mac M1.
If you have an Intel-powered Mac, you can easily run Windows on a Boot Camp partition. After that, go to the Epic Games Store and download Fortnite.
Please keep in mind that the game’s performance varies depending on your hardware. As a result, ensure that your computer is powerful enough to run the game.
How to Play Fortnite on Macbook Air: Utilize Virtual Machine
Because Windows cannot be run on a Boot Camp partition, it can only be run in a virtual machine. There are several programs that can run a virtual machine on your Mac, but we will use Parallels in this tutorial. Parallels Desktop 16 for Mac was one of the first developers to announce support for Macs with the M1 chip.
You can easily install Windows on a Mac and play Fortnite with Parallels. However, for some people, the process is not straightforward. Here’s how:
Step 1: To begin, download and install Parallels Desktop 17 for Mac. You can sign up for a 14-day free trial to experience all of its features before committing to paying for it.
Step 2: Once you’ve installed the software on your Mac, sign up to become a Windows Insider. – follow this link to sign up.
Step 3: Get Windows 10/11 on ARM Insider Preview. The download is available from Microsoft’s official download page (make sure you are logged into your Windows Insider account).
Step 4: Open Parallels and configure your Windows installation. Continue > Install Windows or another operating system from a DVD or image file from the pop-up menu.
Step 5: Parallels will begin to detect the Windows installation image. When it’s finished, click Continue. Of course, you can change the settings to your liking and then click Create to continue.
Step 6: The software will now create the virtual machine, and you will be able to configure its memory and CPU cores.
Step 7: Once everything is in place, the Windows installation should begin, which could take a few minutes. When it’s finished, restart Windows and go to the Epic Games Store to install Fortnite.
GeForce Now
If you find installing Windows on a virtual machine difficult, you can access the game through a cloud gaming service. One of the best services for streaming games on your Mac is GeForce Now. However, in order to access its servers, you must have a good internet connection.
Step 1: Head over to GeForce Now’s official page, choose Play Now and then your subscription plan.
Step 2: Sign in to your Nvidia account and download the GeForce Now client for Mac. After that, open the Applications folder and run the client.
Step 3: Choose Fortnite and press the Play button. The client will begin analyzing your network in order to improve your gaming experience. Keep in mind that you may encounter lag and performance issues while playing.
The Bottom Line
Due to the lawsuit between Apple and Epic Games, playing Fortnite on a Mac is not an easy process. However, there are several ways to accomplish this. Each of the methods listed above has flaws, so deciding which is best is entirely up to you.
A competitive online game enthusiast who has potato aim and grandma reflexes, but still enjoy writing about various games.