You have heard so many times about Fortnite, all your friends have been playing it for some time and have suggested you to try it too, but you have a PC available and also a bit dated, so much so that you are not able to allow you to play this title in an optimal way as would you?
If this is your situation, or maybe you have little disk space, then you are wondering how to play Fortnite on PC without downloading it, you must know that the solution to your question is really simple: it's called streaming. Well yes! You can play the hugely popular Epic Games game in streaming (as if it were a Netflix movie or similar, obviously with the possibility of interacting with it in real time) by delegating all the calculations to a remote server. This means that you can also play on an outdated computer.
All you need is a Windows PC or a Mac, and most importantly, a fairly fast and stable internet connection. How do you say? Does it sound too good to be true? I assure you that it is just as I am telling you! Make yourself comfortable and read the next lines. I just have to wish you a big good luck for everything and, above all, wish you a lot of fun!
Index
- Preliminary information
- How to play Fortnite on PC for free without downloading it
- Other ways to play Fortnite on PC without downloading it
Preliminary information
You should know that, for some time now, the possibility of playing your favorite titles remotely has become widespread in the world of video games. Basically, it is possible to play on any PC, console or smartphone without having a copy of the actual game available, playing streaming via an Internet connection. Sounds like science fiction, right?
Yet it is all tangible (or almost). Video games, in essence, run on remote servers. The latter then send the video signal to the user's device in real time with a delay, between input and output, of only a few milliseconds. Ultimately, the user has the perception of normally playing any title that runs on his console or PC and not on hardware thousands of miles away.
Wondering how, in practice, to have the opportunity to play this way? The answer is very simple. You must be signed up for a remote gaming service. Currently, the most widespread and valid are Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Now, Google Stadia, Amazon Moon e NVIDIA GeForce NOW, each of which has its own catalog of games available to subscribers (depending on the case, in exchange for a basic subscription or with individual purchases).
Since Fortnite is currently only included in the list of GeForce NOW games, in this guide of mine I will explain in detail the operation of this latter service, so that you will be able to play the very popular title even on an obsolete PC without having to download and install it.
How do you say? You already have it available Fortnite on your PlayStation o Xbox but would you still like to play it on computer? Very well, then you have the possibility to play the title in question on PC and Mac thanks to the remote play of the consoles.
This is a free feature, made available directly by the console manufacturers and which, by installing a special client, allows you to play your own titles in streaming from the console. I'll give you more information on this in the last chapter of this guide.
How to play Fortnite on PC for free without downloading it
Having made all the necessary premises above, I would say that you are ready to take action and discover the solutions that, to date, allow you to play Fortnite on your computer without having to download the game. Have fun!
NVIDIA GeForce NOW
In the following lines I will explain to you in detail how GeForce NOW works. The remote gaming service of NVIDIA it is really great for the image quality and the framerate it manages to guarantee during gaming sessions. However, to get these results you will have to keep in mind some basic requirements that I will list shortly.
To play games in resolution a 720p and 60 frames per second you need a connection with a download speed of at least 15 Mbps. For resolution a 1080p and 60 FPSinstead, you must have at least 25 Mbps in download. For the best possible experience, NVIDIA recommends 50 Mbps. You must also pay attention to latency, that is the time difference between the input of your commands, given on the controller or keyboard, and the output of the system. This factor is related to the ping of your connection.
In this case, the minimum requirement is to have a line with a ping less than 80ms (milliseconds). For best performance, however, the ping should be less than 40ms. If you don't know how to check these parameters you can read this guide in which I explain all the available procedures in detail. To know how to check ping, specifically, I refer you to this tutorial instead.
In general, my advice, if you have the possibility, is to use a wired Internet connection, with the classic Ethernet cable. If, on the other hand, you only have a WiFi network available, it is preferable to keep the PC in the same room where the modem / router is located, disconnect other devices from the network and interrupt any download processes or other operations that affect the connection.
To play Fortnite with GeForce NOW you will first need to choose your monthly subscription plan. NVIDIA offers 2 solutions: the plan Free it is completely free but only allows you to play for a maximum of a hour a day; plan Foundersinstead, at the cost of € 27,45 every 6 months o 5,49 per month allows you to play unlimited. In addition, the graphics option will be available on the games RTX which greatly improves the overall graphic quality rendering, in particular reflections and lighting.
The further difference between the two plans is thestandard or priority access to game sessions. The first, from time to time, forces you to wait, based on the number of users in the queue, before starting to play. With priority access, however, you can play immediately, without having to "queue" first. For all the details on GeForce NOW subscriptions, I refer you to the official support page. In this case, I inform you that normally the waiting times to play Fortnite are really very long (sometimes hours).
If, in addition to Fortnite, you are interested in discovering the complete list of GeForce NOW games, you can check this page. I must inform you, however, that for free games (such as Fortnite) no download or installation is required. For other games, however, you will be required to have a copy of the game on your PC.
The last point you need to consider, before proceeding to download the client, are the minimum system requirements for the installation of the same: I report them below.
- Operating System: Windows 7 or higher, macOS 10.10 Yosemite or higher;
- Processor: Dual-core X86 with 2.0 GHz or higher;
- Graphic card: NVIDIA GeForce 600 series or later (Processors with integrated graphics are also supported: Intel HD Graphics 2000 series or later, Intel HD Graphics 2000 series or later);
- DirectX: 11 or higher;
- Storage space: 4GB
When it comes to gaming peripherals, GeForce NOW is compatible with most of the mice, keyboards and controllers available on the market. For all further information regarding the system requirements, I refer you to this page of the official website.
Well, once you've checked your connection parameters and hardware requirements to install GeForce NOW, you can proceed to sign up. To create the account with which you will then connect to the client, connected to this page and click on the item Create account, down. In the form that is proposed to you, you must enter your data (Visualized name e date of birth) in the appropriate fields, a email address valid which you can have access to verify your identity and the Password you want to use for your profile.
After entering the required information, check the box for terms and conditionsclick on your button Create account, then press the button Continue. At this point, open the mailbox associated with the email address you provided during registration and search for the email sent by NVIDIA (take a look at the folder Spam o Junk Mail if you don't find it immediately).
Once the email is open, click on the button Verify email address. Now your address is verified and your account can be used on the client. To download the latter connected to this page, select the system on which you want to install it and press the button Download.
Now open the file .exe as soon as it is obtained, it accepts the authorization request from Windows pressing the button Yes. The client program will open and start loading, at the end another window will open, press the button Accetta and continue, then click the button Log in (top left).
In the browser page that opens, click on the button Nvidia. Then enter theemail address associated with your account and the Password in the appropriate fields and press the buttons Log in e Send.
If you are using a Mac, however, you must open the .dmg file got it and drag the icon GeForce NOW in the folder Applications macOS, and then launch the application through it.
At this point, go back to the GeForce NOW client and type “fortnite” in the search bar. The game will be shown to you in the list with the search results: press the corresponding button Play and a network check will be carried out automatically, which will inform you of the status of your connection, telling you if it is suitable for the standards of the service.
Then press the button Continue and you will be able to play Fortnite (after loading is complete). If you run into any problems, you can check the status of the NVIDIA GeForce servers here.
Other ways to play Fortnite on PC without downloading it
You stai chiedendo how to play Fortnite on PC without downloading it with other methods besides GeForce NOW? As I explained to you in the Getting Started chapter, another good option is to use the remote play of the consoles. In this case, you must have previously downloaded and installed the game on your PlayStation (PS4 / PS5) or Xbox (One or Series X / S).
Through the special clients released by Sony and Microsoft, you will be able to play Fortnite thanks to the video stream that comes from your console and is played on the computer on which you choose to play (a bit like it happens on GeForce NOW, even if in that case the streaming takes place from a remote server). On both PlayStation and Xbox, before you can play remotely, you have to go and change some parameters found in the game system settings.
Don't worry - these are just a few very simple steps to take. Regarding the procedure to follow for PlayStation, you can read this guide of mine in which I explained in detail how remote play works on the Sony console. Regarding Xbox, I refer you to the official Microsoft support page.
For the requirements related to the Internet connection, to use its service, Sony has indicated as a minimum 5 Mbps in download (or 12 Mbps in download, for an optimal experience). Microsoft, on the other hand, indicated 9 Mbps as a minimum threshold. If you do not know how to check the speed of your connection, I refer you to the guide that I have already recommended in the chapter on GeForce NOW.
