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Blizzard Entertainment's recently introduced SMS Protect feature has garnered criticism among "Overwatch 2" players, especially those who do not have postpaid plans. Although the developer slightly relaxed the requirement, it appears to be extending to other Activision Blizzard titles like the upcoming "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II."
An updated Battle.net support page, first seen by PC Gamer, indicates that the platform will also require "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II" players to provide a phone number. The requirement is cited under the Phone Notifications information, but the support page mentions that phone numbers will be required "to access certain games," which includes the next "Call of Duty" installment.
The information can be found under the Battle.net Phone Notification support page, but it indicates that the requirement will also cover access to "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II." The page also says Battle.net will only accept phone numbers "with a data plan" and indicates VOIP and prepaid numbers cannot be used on the platform.
Blizzard announced a number of new features for "Overwatch 2," including SMS Protect, shortly before the game launched on Oct. 4. SMS Protect essentially requires players across all platforms to link an active phone number to their Battle.net account to access the new game. It serves as a two-factor authentication system that Blizzard says should tackle disruptive behavior and bad actors in the game.
Some players, however, found out soon that SMS Protect can be disadvantageous because it does not accept VOIP and prepaid numbers. "Overwatch" player Richard Meunster told Kotaku that the requirement felt like a punishment "for being poor."
After the tumultuous launch of "Overwatch 2" and complaints about the SMS Protect restrictions, Blizzard slightly relaxed the requirement. The developer said in an update on Oct. 5 that fans who have linked their Battle.net accounts to "Overwatch" since June 9, 2021, will not be required to provide a postpaid phone number. But the requirement remains for newly created accounts.
"We remain committed to combating disruptive behavior in Overwatch 2—accounts that were not connected to Battle.net as well as new accounts will still have to meet SMS Protect requirements, which helps to ensure we’re protecting our community against cheating," Blizzard said about the update. It remains to be seen if Activision will follow the same approach for "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II", which will launch on Oct. 28 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
