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Can’t wait to play ‘Fortnite’ on your phone? Sign up for ‘FortCraft’ instead

Updated Mar 12th, 2018 4:56PM EDT
FortCraft download
Image: NetEase

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Just as sign ups for the Fortnite iOS beta event begin, mobile developer NetEase has kicked off a beta for a Fortnite clone called FortCraft on both iOS and Android. NetEase is behind a handful of PUBG-like battle royale games on the App Store and Google Play, but just as Fortnite begins to take off, an eerily similar game from NetEase has suddenly made its way to market. It’s hard to describe just how blatant of a ripoff it really is.

Like Fortnite, the twist in FortCraft is that while you’re running around a massive island with 99 other players all intent on killing one another, you can collect materials that can be used to build structures, like walls and ramps. Everything about the building system, including the three materials you gather, is identical to Fortnite.

But it goes way beyond the building. The weapons are similar, the art style is the same and even the pickups are nearly indistinguishable from the ones you’d find in Fortnite. The shield potions, the bandages, the ammo — if you’ve ever played a round of Fortnite, you’ll have deja vu the whole time you’re playing FortCraft.

That said, this isn’t just shovelware. Having played a round (and won, believe it or not), the game controls as well as any third-person shooter I’ve played on my iPhone 8. It only took me three seconds to find a match, and once I was in, the game ran smoothly for the entirety of the fifteen or so minutes I played.

Of course, the best thing about FortCraft is that you can start playing it today. iOS users can sign up for the TestFlight invitation on the game’s website, while Android users can head to this link to become a tester.

Jacob Siegal
Jacob Siegal Associate Editor

Jacob Siegal is Associate Editor at BGR, having joined the news team in 2013. He has over a decade of professional writing and editing experience, and helps to lead our technology and entertainment product launch and movie release coverage.