‘Overwatch 2’ Is Dropping The Phone Number Requirement For Most Existing Players

Games ‘Overwatch 2’ Is Dropping The SMS Protect Phone Number Requirement For Most Existing Players Kris Holt Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I cover all things games, especially Overwatch. Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories.

Got it! Oct 5, 2022, 09:58pm EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Good ness for Overwatch 2 players. Blizzard Entertainment The Overwatch 2 team has just provided an update on the state of the game. Along with an apology for the rough launch and the latest on server and account merging issues, there’s some great news: Blizzard is dropping the controversial phone number requirement for most players.

If you’ve ever played the game on PC or on console since the introduction of cross-play in June 2021 , you’ll no longer need to add a phone number to your account to play Overwatch 2. “We have made the decision to remove phone number requirements for a majority of existing Overwatch players,” Overwatch 2 community manager Jodie Grace wrote in an update on the game’s forums. “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.

” However, if you didn’t play Overwatch between June 9 last year and now, or you’re a new player, you’ll still need to link a valid phone number to your account. This SMS Protect initiative has proven to be a flashpoint, because pre-paid and VOIP numbers were deemed invalid. It locked millions of existing and potential Overwatch players out of the game, and was proving to be an accessibility problem .

So, if you’ve plowed thousands of hours into the original game but were unable to connect a valid phone number, that shouldn’t be an issue as of Friday, and you should be able to play Overwatch 2 (you know, if the server issues are resolved by then). That said, this development may come as a small comfort to new players who don’t have access to a phone number that works with Blizzard’s systems. Still, Grace noted that Team 4 is still listening to player feedback about this issue, and will make other adjustments to SMS Protect if necessary.

Given the backlash against the phone number requirement, Blizzard had to do something to address the issue. I’m glad that existing players without a pre-paid phone will no longer have to worry about that barrier stopping them from hopping in to Overwatch 2. MORE FOR YOU Patrick Byrne Of Overstock Fame Says He Was Involved In Monthslong Effort To Overturn 2020 Election MLB 2022 Playoffs: Series Matchups, Schedule And Odds InnovationRx: Medicare Advantage Plans Are Expanding; Plus: A Medtech Billionaire In addition, Grace noted that the launch hasn’t met player expectations nor Blizzard’s, and apologized for the problems: “We expected the launch of Overwatch 2 to go smoothly.

We hold ourselves to a higher standard and we are working hard to resolve the issues you are experiencing. ” Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn . Check out some of my other work here .

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