Blizzard requires you to use certain service providers in order to play their FREE game. It’s not free it requires you to change off a affordable phone plan like cricket, and/or MetroPCS and fork over more cash to AT&T and/or “T MOBILE” (now the OWL sponsorship makes more since) in order to play their “FREE TO PLAY GAME” if I need to change my phone plan to play the game I paid for 6 years ago give me my money back RIGHT NOW!!
12 Likes
OW1 was already a subscription service since you needed a home and internet to play it
19 Likes
So there is no such thing as a free online game because they all require you pay for electricity and Internet access
11 Likes
I mean you’re not very wrong.
If you don’t have postpaid SIM and you buy 1 just for OW, then it’s an additional monthly investment for you.
I’m not against the “identity check” idea, but Blizzard seems to let down many people with these restrictions.
Jon Spector watched “The Purge” and decided to live it irl.
3 Likes
Welcome to life. No product is free.
But yeah, you’re right.
3 Likes
First mistake was believing in something like, “free 2 play”.
Why would a greedy, filthy, devious, petty, and morally bankrupt company give anything away for free?
2 Likes
Love how this certain issue has been around for a bit. Now it’s suddenly getting outrage now. 
1 Like
Think of OW2 as a store that you’re free to walk into and browse at your leisure. You don’t have to pay money to enter the store… but all business owners know… the more time you spend in their store, the more likely you are to spend money on goods, and that is what the OW devs are counting on.
No one is forcing you to spend money, but those shiny epic skins become more appealing the more time you spend playing the game… that is the business model.
3 Likes
OP is not complaining about the in-game store.
He means the additional monthly costs of having a postpaid SIM.
He can’t even play the game if he doesn’t own such a SIM.
2 Likes
Most people are only just learning about it. Before the recent blog post, the only place it was referenced was the watchpoint purchase page.
3 Likes
That’s why there’s no clocks in stores.
1 Like
Overwatch wasn’t F2P before now though was it? It just now became an issue I bought the game twice THEY are shutting the servers down for OW1 the game i bought will no longer exist that is a new development.
People need to be more observant for stuff like this and Blizzard should also advertise this a lot more but of course crickets on this until now.
2 Likes
I used to have T-Mobile Pre-Paid. Now I am on Verizon w/ the OWL sponsored by that which wouldn’t let me play the game.
NEWS — Blizzard makes OW2 a T-Mobile Post-Pay plan Exclusive lol
The irony here is way too funny. So much for cheap Cellular services LOL
2 Likes
I will be shocked if sms verification sticks to the end of the year. combating smurfs is great but so many people are just not going to play a game they cant just boot up with an email. it seems the new player onboarding will be enough to combat it
3 Likes
Just subscribe to T-Mobile 
1 Like
True enough they made it Free to Play to make it more accessible then lock out people who want to save money on their phones. Good One Blizz I guess we don’t have phones afterall
2 Likes
I said this earlier a bunch of clowns can’t differentiate utilities from subscriptions.
If you are making a person that doesn’t even want a phone buy specific plans just to play your game that isn’t even necessary for your game. You are essentially having the same effect as making them pay a subscription just to specifically play your game.
Thats a artificial monetary barrier they added. That’s not free to play.
4 Likes
True and real, it’s especially damning because the playerbase already bought the game on a different monetization model and they are locking players out (me included apparently “cricket user”) from a game they bought and paid for.
1 Like
…OW2 is free… 
1 Like