If you spend any time playing video games – or know anyone who does – chances are you've heard the name Fortnite at least once over the last nine months. But with the March 17 launch of Fortnite Battle Royale on iOS, the game has reached a whole new level of ultra-virality – not only is it sitting at the top of the charts in the App Store, it's got a waiting list a mile long eagerly awaiting access.

If at this point you're wonder what exactly Fortnite is, ahead we break down every little thing you need to know about the franchise that is taking the world by storm.

The backstory

Fortnite appeared in our lives back in July 2017, when the game – billed as a cross between Minecraft and PUBG – launched on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC/Mac. The original game centered on the 2 percent of Earth's population who survived a mass extinction event, and challenged users to create shelters and defeat zombie-like creatures in order to live another day and bring the world back to normal.

While Fortnite proved to be super popular, what truly broke through was the game's eventual free-to-play spin-off, Fortnite Battle Royale. Unlike its longform older brother, the free game doesn't focus on long-term survival of the fittest; instead, it's a co-op centered around a core group of 100 players fighting to be the last man standing. A Battle Royale indeed.

The rise of Fortnite Battle Royale – among *literally* everyone

We may have alluded to this previously, but the game got very popular by the time 2018 rolled around. Not convinced? Just take a quick look at Drake – yes, that Drake – duking it out alongside Twitch star Ninja:

Watch Squads with Drake, Travis and JuJu you heard me. | @Ninja on Twitter and Instagram from Ninja on www.twitch.tv [1]

Outside of Drake, it was recently revealed that a number of NBA stars are unbelievably addicted to the game [2] and that celebrities and e-sports pros alike [3] would be going head-to-head at the video game conference E3 this year. But outside of the more mainstream faces, many have begun to argue that it's the biggest game on Earth right now [4], and honestly, that wouldn't surprise us in the slightest.

Fans line up for the mobile version of the game

Now that you know the backstory, it should come as no surprise that the eagerly-awaited mobile version has a hefty waiting list. If you aren't in the loop with someone who has easy access to an invite, you can sign up for one on the Fortnite website [5] and eagerly await entry – but it's worth noting that you must own an Apple device running iOS to play. While Epic Games has plans to release the game on Android as well, there is no date set in stone just yet.

Here's the good news, though: the game is still free-to-play on consoles and computers, so even if you can't get access to the mobile game right away we highly recommend checking it out via those platforms as soon as possible.