OnePlus teams up Epic Games on first-ever 90FPS Fortnite on smartphone

It's not that hard to run Fortnite at 90FPS on the PC even at 1080p on a mid-range graphics card, but on a smartphone? It's a growing trend that the gaming smartphone companies like ASUS and Razer have been doing, thanks to Qualcomm's continued push in SoC tech with its Snapdragon range of processors.

But now OnePlus is joining the group -- with the flagship OnePlus 8 smartphone now capable of running Fortnite at 90FPS. The OnePlus 8 smartphone packs a flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor, as well as a display that can pump away at 90Hz.

OnePlus worked with Epic Games in order to balance the optimizations needed for the OnePlus-specific build of Fortnite, with GameSpot getting an exclusive look at the Unreal Engine-powered battle royale champion running at 90FPS on the flagship OnePlus 8 smartphone.

The OnePlus 8 will have an option for 90FPS in Fortnite, but all graphics settings are set to "Low" -- GameSpot says "that's the catch". The site notes that Fortnite on the OnePlus 8 on Low graphical detail "doesn't necessarily look the prettiest, this sort of performance mode makes for the smoothest possible gameplay experience on phones. It's worth noting that resolution scaling remains at 100% as well, running the game at the phone's native resolution of 2400x1080".

So a win for OnePlus there, as Fortnite isn't just running at 1920 x 1080 (1080p) but it is running at the slightly higher 2400 x 1080 resolution. If you don't want the higher-end 90FPS option, then there is a 60FPS option that you can use as well -- the 60FPS option also offers better detail.

60FPS will run a little less smooth, but it will crank the graphics up to the "Epic" graphics setting versus "Low" at 90FPS.

As for the 90FPS gaming experience on the OnePlus 8 smartphone in Fortnite, GameSpot notes: "In my experience, the advantage of 90 FPS doesn't exactly have the same effect on a phone as it does on a PC where quick, twitch reactions and the precision of mouse aiming will truly reap the benefits. However, it's noticeably smoother than 60 FPS and a world of difference from 30 FPS, which most Android phones (and the Nintendo Switch) run the game at".

The post continues: "While we haven't been able to track exact frame timings and metrics, it's been able to maintain amid chaotic firefights on screen without perceivable frame drops. One thing I noticed was that the backplate would get quite hot near the camera, and in a situation without a phone case, you'd need to be careful in how you hold the phone. And naturally, running 90 FPS will force the phone to work harder and likely draw battery life faster than it would otherwise. Still, it's technologically impressive and showcases the power you can pack into a phone for gaming".

It's not just "oh, so Fortnite runs at 90FPS on the OnePlus 8 smartphone" but rather that this is the first time ever that Fortnite has been running at 90FPS on a smartphone. OnePlus chief marketing officer Kyle Kiang told GameSpot:

"It's the first time there's been a smartphone that can run Fortnite and the Unreal Engine at 90 FPS".

You can read more about Fortnite on the OnePlus 8 smartphone at 90FPS here.