Epic Games has today announced the availability of video chats on Fortnite. The feature is powered by Houseparty video chat app, which Epic acquired last year. Houseparty video chats are now available to Fortnite players on PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
Epic notes that players will need an iPhone or an Android phone with the Houseparty app installed. That’s because your mobile phone is acting as the camera while you’re playing Fortnite on your PC or console. To get started, you should install the Houseparty app and connect your Houseparty account to Epic Games account.
Once you’ve linked the accounts, you will see video chats in the left sidebar of the game after starting a call. Notably, the company says that video chat automatically gets cropped to focus on player faces. Moreover, it automatically applies a Fortnite-themed virtual background so that just your face is visible to other players in the video chat.
Since this feature involves showing your face to other players, Fortnite has added parental controls. Parents have the option to turn off Houseparty video chats from Fortnite’s parental control options. According to Fortnite, the new feature is designed for players over the age of 13.
While just the players on the Houseparty video chat can see you on video, Fortnite reminds that you may be visible to a wide audience in case one of the participants is streaming the game to platforms like YouTube or Twitch.
The company is incentivizing players to install the Houseparty app by offering Rainbow Fog wrap for free. You can also unlock the wrap by playing five Fortnite matches with your friends between November 20 and November 26. According to Fortnite, players will receive their free wraps by the 4th of December.
