Blizzard Drops Phone Number Requirement For 'Most' Overwatch 2 Players
Well, Overwatch 2's launch went as about expected. Poorly. There are too many problems plaguing Blizzard right now, with its ongoing purchase by Xbox and the company withholding raises from employees interested in strike action - so the industry is gravitating towards what players can actually see on the surface.
That means that Overwatch 2 remains under heavy scrutiny in its opening days. As players are fighting to get into games and needing to sign up all over again, for lack of a better word, it's a bit of a clusterf**k. And now, Blizzard has been forced to backtrack on their most bizarre entry to the barriers to getting into Overwatch 2.
Why Does Overwatch 2 Require Your Phone Number?
Click to enlargeOne of the strangest parts of the game's sign-up process was the requirement for SMS protect, which is a system that needed players to have a phone number attached to their Blizzard account in order to play.
It's a concerning addition, as it has only made the onboarding process more difficult for players, and made them feel more unsafe. Now, Blizzard is trying to work back the system for existing players. Blizzard has updated players on the progress of SMS protect, revealing that it's trying to retcon the requirement for most players in a new blog post on the Blizzard forums.
"We designed Overwatch 2 to be a live service, which enables us to be responsive to a variety of player feedback," it reads. "We have made the decision to remove phone number requirements for a majority of existing Overwatch players. Any Overwatch player with a connected Battle.net account, which includes all players who have played since June 9, 2021, will not have to provide a phone number to play. We are working to make this change and expect it to go live on Friday, October 7. We will update players once it is in effect."
Blizzard's SMS Protect Was Boxing Out Players
It's certainly good news that the system is being cleared for many players, as it led to a lot of Overwatch fans simply not being able to access the game. When it was in play, there were plenty of grumbles about this Big Brother-inspired jumping through hoops. One critic moaned, "I was really excited for Overwatch 2 but that SMS Protect / Defense Matrix bs is completely ridiculous. Say goodbye to 1/4 of your players before the game even comes out, myself included."
Another seethed, "Not going to able to play Overwatch 2 on launch after putting hundreds of hours into Overwatch because of SMS protect." They added that there are issues with their region being wrong or not being able to add a phone number, which has reportedly led to a 7-day ticket response time... yikes. It's safe to say that the launch of Overwatch 2 hasn't exactly gone to plan, but Blizzard still has time to turn it around. Though knowing Overwatch fans, they'll be too distracted by their rage to care.
