How to Video Chat Inside Fortnite
As I often say, I am the worst Fortnite player in the world. If I can’t catch someone standing still for a long period of time and shoot at them from an unholy distance, I take shotguns in the face and line up in much the same way as a three-year-old. Fortnite is more than just running around, however; The game also has a big social dimension, and that’s even more obvious now that you can have full-fledged video chats within the game itself.
I look forward to the day my weekly Zoom meetings move to Fortnite . Until then, I’ll have to settle for video chat with friends through Fortnite’s new integration with the Houseparty chat service . Setting up is a bit of a tricky process, but well worth it.
First, and most importantly, make sure you update Fortnite on your PC to the latest version. This might be a big download from the Epic Games store , so be prepared to wait a bit. But you will have enough time to also install Houseparty on your iOS or Android device that you need to get it going.
When you are ready with both applications, launch Houseparty and click on the TV icon with the letter “F” inside. Now you need to link your Houseparty account to your Epic Games account:
Leave the app open and launch Fortnite . Once the game has loaded, click on the TV icon in Houseparty again. You should now be able to turn on Fortnite Mode and appear in the game as shown below:
And anyone who joins your Houseparty chat will appear below you – either your friends or the friends of people already participating in your video chat. They don’t need to play Fortnite to join your party. When you play the game, your virtual chat members will be displayed on the left sidebar:
An interesting point about the Fortnite Houseparty integration is that the game automatically takes you to a virtual background so you don’t accidentally share the details of your house and zooms in on your face. Ideally, this should prevent a significant amount of abuse and / or privacy issues with this video chat feature. But no promises.
If you’re a parent and really hate the idea of your toddler mashing their favorite video chat services into their favorite video game, you can use Fortnite’s parental controls to block HouseParty completely . Heck, you can also turn off all voice chat if your kid, his friends, or their random fighters get too passionate during various battle royals. Your child may hate you, but at least they won’t be tempted to curse everyone they play with whenever they receive the Impossible Shot medal.
(Honestly, I’m a grown man, and even have a select few words to say a few times when I nail one of them. It just worries.)