Smaller download. Better performance. Players playing Fortnite on older specs have a new option for playing the game.

Beginning December 15th, we’re launching a new performance mode on all PCs that meet Fortnite’s minimum specifications. Available in Alpha, Performance Mode will be selectable through the in-game settings menu and offers significant performance gains by trading out visual quality to lower memory usage and lighten the load on CPU and GPU. For players already on low scalability settings or less powerful hardware, this mode will allow the game to run better than ever before and maintain a smoother framerate.

Performance mode under Advanced Graphics

Performance Mode is opt-in for most users and will launch with support for Battle Royale and Creative mode only. Users running on older hardware will see a prompt pushing them to the mode to try it out as the recommended way to experience the game. Performance Mode can be enabled or disabled at any time through the in-game settings menu and restarting the game.

Save Hard Drive Space 

With the launch of Performance Mode, players will also be able to opt-out of high-resolution textures through the Epic Games Launcher installation options page.

Follow the following steps in order to opt-out of high-resolution textures.

1. Open the Epic Games Launcher.

2. Click on Library.

3. Locate Fortnite and click on the three dots next to it.



4.Click on Options.


5.Check the box next to Use High-Quality Textures.      

This will remove around 14GB of high-resolution content for a final game size as low as 17GB  with all optional components removed. For players using lower scalability settings or running at lower resolutions, this can save a lot of disk space for a small amount of in-game quality loss!

Recommended Hardware

While Performance Mode will offer improvements for all users that opt-in, there are certain hardware requirements that can offer a significantly smoother experience. For users on older machines, having the game run from an SSD or providing 6GB of RAM or higher will allow the game to better fit in memory and reduce overall hitches and stutters. A dedicated GPU is not required but will also help balance system load and give a much smoother experience.

What to Expect

Performance mode is made possible by lowering in-game visual quality to increase framerate and is a great way for users to hop in and experience the game as long as they meet the Fortnite system requirements. Along with the option to uninstall high resolution textures, players can now get in quicker than ever before and still enjoy the game as intended.

Below are a couple of examples of the typical FPS values seen by laptops running with the existing low scalability mode in a standard Squads match, compared to the same match running in Performance mode using 720p during both runs.

Performance mode with high-resolution textures disabled at 720p in Chapter 2 Season 5!

Explore Chapter 2 - Season 5 in Performance Mode