*Important* OW2: About Phone Numbers

General Discussion
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Warning: TL;DR

*Read ONLY if you actually care about this matter. Please refrain from trolling or overall being rude. Thank you

Hello everyone. I haven’t been on here in years but after hearing about this recent news regarding SMS and phone number requirement I felt the need to address my concerns and issues I feel this has caused for the Overwatch community.

If what I’m reading about here from other players is true, then this really is a cause for concern on many levels as they have potentially just squanderd a lot of players from playing a FREE to play game, due to not being financially secure enough to play anyways due to a phone number requirement not elligible to all. The irony in that is astounding.

I speak for myself when I say that I’d love to play a game I love free of cheaters, griefers, hackers, and verbally abusive players as much as the next person but going about it in this way has caused frustration, including myself, who are long time fans of the game who had waited years to play this.

Being either the pioneers who had played Overwatch since the very beginning or being newer players who had just decided to join in on the fun, (or for those that have yet still to join) we are all in the end, fans of Overwatch who had spent (or will spend) countless hours, time and money supporting the franchise. To think that in less than a week, you’ll finally be able to experience a new game that you waited years for and that you love only to find out that a mere phone number is stopping this new adventure.

I dont feel that ANY person should need to feel ostracized for their financial situation or how they choose to live the way best for them. There are also many people who have pre paid phones that are on a plan suitable for them who cannot even input their number now without needing to change providers, causing uneeded hoops they’ll need to go through now in order to just play one game by switching numbers, service providers, etc. This includes myself, who is quite comfortable with the provider I already have for my convenience of living, yet it is still not enough.

There are some people who cannot afford a cell phone or set payments up the way needed, or being comfortable with their current providers too because it is convenient for them. The whole going “Free to Play” I thought was so that many more people would be included to just start playing the game immediately without the need to worry about what was in their bank accounts yet the exact opposite is happening.

I dont find it fair at all to those who are trying to make ends meet by setting up a plan for themselves and/or their families on their own terms to survive and then be ridiculed for it by trying to explain themselves when they shouldn’t have to.

There is also the issue of privacy, how many people need their own number now if they wish to play in a household with younger family members and about the potential of hackers if they were to get ahold of said numbers. I would like more detail on this and on how it would work because many people will not change their lifestyle or financial security for a simple game.

I myself wasnt sure what a “pre paid or post paid” phone was until now. I have just found out I have a post-paid phone (at least according my provider, who has confirmed this as I’m always being billed at the end of month but even she was confused, so I am taking what she said with a grain of salt at this point) Oddly, I had just tried giving my phone number in myself to my account so see if it works and yet, it will not go through saying I need a “Post paid Number” when, according to what I have been told, I do have one.

I’m not sure if this is a glitch on their end or what but I can’t even seem to log in my own phone number as well since it isn’t seemingly “meeting the requirements” If this is already giving me headaches then I can’t imagine this being the start that is ideal for this game. So what I question now is, what isn’t qualified as a number and what is?

This is all so very disappointing as I had waited since the very first time OW2 was announced only now to realize last minute, that “Hey, I’m not going to be able to play” It’s disheartening really and I hope that there will be another way for this because right now, I see a lot of people not being able to play because of this one issue.

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Tell me you’re a tween without telling me you’re a tween.

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in my 20s

11 characters

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Not mentally. :popcorn:

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(post deleted by author)

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k. i still dont see how getting a phone number to borrow would be so hard for an underage gamer. if u have to ask ur parents for money to buy a game why would it be too hard to ask them for their phone number?

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And what if those kids have parents that play the game, too? Why require SMS protect for non-competitive settings such as arcade and quick play? A player without a phone could not even go into the flappy mercy custom game, where there is no trolling or smurfing potential. There’s a lot more people this affects than just underage gamers, when it should be limited to being a requirement to play competitive mode.

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If somebody can’t read they shouldn’t be playing. The OP has a phone yet can’t play OW2.

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After playing OW for 6 years i have very little compassion left for the community. This is nothing but good news.

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Let’s not pretend as if preventing smurfing was the only reason.

Generally speaking, two-factor verification has existed for ages now and is just another form of security against hackers and other people who want to try and get into your account.

The idea that most gamers (let alone Overwatch players) don’t have working mobile numbers is laughable at best. Also, this feature has existed for ages now. Upon making a Blizzard account, you’ve always had the option to add your phone number so people pretending as if this is some new invention by Blizz r just being weird.

Legit, when I first made my Blizzard account the first thing I did was verify my phone number because I actually use this account to purchase things so I needed to feel secure about my financial information being stored on here.

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good point. i doubt that most squeakers would have both of their parents on OW tho. for the few that do i guess they’ll have to look further in their social circle or they’re just screwed. either way you cant make an omelette without breaking a few eggs. rampant smurfing made consolewatch unplayable.

that’s actually pretty smart. they should have definitely done that.

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plus their prioritys would be super skewed if they’re using a gaming computer and internet without having a phone first.

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I use cricket and prepay annually. My number I’ve had for five years doesn’t work. Can’t even get a refund on the watchpoint pack. Only option is to buy a redundant phone plan at this point.

Honestly think I might just find a new game, only started playing again last season after playing a little bit during season 3 back in the day.

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Just because someone can afford $40 a month to play OW, doesn’t mean anyone in their right mind would pay $40 a month to play OW.

I love OW, but if I had to $40 a month to play it, uuuhh, no.

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ow has plenty of people with low attention spans playing. no way im reading all that XD

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Tbh, I could see them loosening this restriction on Quickplay/Arcade games, but not Comp games.

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Most people can afford a phone and majority of people have a phone. Be real here🙃

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People with phones may not be able to receive SMS messages, so it’s not only about people who cannot afford phones, or don’t own them for other reasons.

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Well also the cynical aspect is that if people can’t afford a phone subscription, then 99% of them are probably not going to be buying any micro-transactions.

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I have free wifi basically anywhere, i don’t need a phone plan for the few calls i make per month, so i use prepaid. I’d need to subscribe to a phone plan just to play OW.

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