Image via Blizzard
Overwatch 2 has been experiencing some major issues and is under hot water for a security measure that Blizzard is now deciding to drop for a good number of players.
Overwatch 2’s new SMS Protect policy forces players to connect a phone number to their battle.net account to launch the game in the first place. However, prepaid phones and non-contract phone numbers were essentially ineligible for this verification process.
After a slew of negative feedback from players, Blizzard has decided to scrap the requirement for most players, with the change coming into effect on Friday, October 7.
Blizzard community manager Jodie wrote in a forum post that: “We designed Overwatch 2 to be a live service, which enables us to be responsive to a variety of player feedback. 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.”
Those making brand new accounts will still need to meet the SMS Protect requirements, however.
“Accounts that were not connected to Battlen.et as well as new accounts will still have to meet SMS Protect requirements, which helps to ensure we’re protecting our community against cheating. If a player is caught engaging in disruptive behavior, their account may be banned whether they have a new account or not.”
Blizzard “will make further adjustments in this area if it is required,” wrote Jodie. The statement does not seem to confirm if the previous block on prepaid phones has been removed.
The news on the SMS Protect system was made public last week, however players only really began to notice the full extent of it when the game went live yesterday. According to a news release on the official website for Overwatch, the SMS Protect system was put in place to combat “both cheating and disruptive behavior.”
The main issue players have had with the situation is the fact that prepaid phones are not eligible for SMS Protect. Prepaid phone plans typically require users to pay the bill before receiving service and don’t usually require a contract. It’s used mainly by individuals who don’t want to spend too much on a contract phone plan or may not be able to afford such contract phone plans. With the SMS Protect system in place, these people are essentially blocked from playing a free game.
A post in r/Overwatch reads the following: “I’m really upset and oddly ashamed for not meeting this ‘standard’. Never thought I would be disqualified from playing overwatch based on my ability [to] afford a phone contract, but here we are… Blizzard is the first company to make me feel too poor to play a game.”
And this user isn’t the only one online to have faced problems due to this requirement.
The extent goes even further though, with people who bought the original Overwatch also being unable to access the title if they don’t meet the SMS Protect requirements. Blizzard shut down the original Overwatch servers and forces players to update to Overwatch 2.
Along with this, Overwatch 2 servers have been hit by DDoS attacks and have been forcing people to wait in lengthy queues that may reach up to 20,000 people at one time.
That’s not the only issue Overwatch 2 faces during its launch week, as players online are also complaining about lengthy queues. Multiple posts on Twitter cite wait queues with upwards of 20,000 people in line ahead of them.
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