Overwatch 2: Blizzard Scrapping a Phone Number Requirement for 'Majority' of Players

ign.com:

After negative feedback, Blizzard is scrapping Overwatch 2's requirement for a non-prepaid phone for most players. The change should come into effect this Friday, October 7.

In a forum post, Blizzard community manager Jodie wrote: "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."

The SMS Protect system was intended to help curb cheating and disruptive behaviour from players, and it will remain in effect for those making brand new accounts.

"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. If a player is caught engaging in disruptive behavior, their account may be banned whether they have a new account or not," reads the statement.

The post ends by saying the team "will make further adjustments in this area if it is required." The statement does not confirm whether the previous block on prepaid phone numbers has been removed, and we've asked Blizzard for comment.

Overwatch 2's free-to-play nature should mean it's accessible to all players with a compatible device. However, a side effect of a new security measure from Blizzard is leaving some users out in the cold.

Over on Twitter, user Jack Saint brought the community's