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.
8 Likes
So, the people who smurfed in 2021 continue to get to use their 10 alts but the new players we want to try to get into the game will continue to be locked out if they don’t have a certain phone plan? Genius approach
41 Likes
just make sms required for comp only or something, dont know why they locked the whole game out
15 Likes
I mean yay for cricket users but nay for everyone cuz the queue issue wasn’t even explained very well? I’m not sure I understood but basically it’s the same thing… we have to queue until they patch their servers, which is odd considering they should have patched them before launch but I digress, I guess
1 Like
It’s not optimal, but it’s a step in the right direction. At least for launch optics. Over time the issues of legit players being blocked (Cricket accounts) and cheaters using SMS validation bypass services will need to be solved, but given where we are today, IMO it’s better to pull back, reevaluate, and then reattack the problem with something better.
Of course, that relies on Blizzard actually doing something better, but the fact they pulled back this early gives me some hope that they’re not just going to ramrod something awful and nonfunctional.
7 Likes
Good, maybe I’ll give the game a shot.
You know what I’m not doing though? Ever paying a cent to this company again. One dissappointment after another.
I was prepping characters for Dragonflight, but I guess it’s no longer an issue.
2 Likes
sweet I have a back up account and don’t need grannies number now
I am glad I will now be able to play the game without a phone number, but I still feel bad for new players without phones or unsupported plans.
Let them pay $40 or $60 to bypass the phone requirement.
7 Likes
Smurfs/hackers/bad actors will pay this. Do not allow it ever. I’m already disappointed they’re backtracking on the phone thing, let’s not open the door all over again.
8 Likes
Hurray, now people who paid for the game can still play it.
They should have decided this BEFORE launch since they’ve had months to think about it, but better late than never I suppose.
3 Likes
Have you ever considered that you’re the baddie?
You want to ban the following groups from the game:
- People without approved phone services
- People with no phones
- Poor people
- Privacy-minded who don’t want to give phone number
- Families/kids without phone numbers
- Small gaming cafes and tournaments
- People that live in rural areas without cell service
and for what…?
So you can have an imaginary better experience? (Pro tip: smurfs aren’t why you’re silver, and there’s not that many cheaters)
People who don’t care about their accounts can pay $1 for a Talkatone number and don’t care if their account gets locked. Legit players don’t want to risk accounts with throwaway numbers that they might not have access to later.
30 Likes
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.
Thank you, OW team. I still disagree with the use of SMS authentication, but this is a positive step.
5 Likes
It solves it over time because now the smurfs can never buy a new account to start over. They have to recycle their accounts and the only way to keep smurfing is to sabotage games and get the account banned eventually. They will die to attrition.
2 Likes
Seems good but thinking about it…
The older players are the problem, not the new players.
Until the player with 10+ smurf account has them all blocked/banned then it will matter.
4 Likes
Let’s go!
I can actually play now!
3 Likes
That’s a lot of wishful thinking in just one comment
2 Likes
I played this game since 2016. I put money, effort and time into the game as well as other longtime players. It’s not fair that just because our phone number doesn’t go by Blizzard’s “standards”, we should end up with a game that’s not playable. I never cheated or smurfed. We all know that cheating and smurfing is a problem and ruins the game, but the way Blizzard was going about it was messy af. It was excluding honest players AND players with post paid numbers, not just pre paid. In this time of inflation, every penny counts and I wasn’t going to jeopardize my financial stability for a game by switching to post paid. It’s called priorities. I’m glad they are allowing long time players to play. In the meantime, I’m sure they will come up with a more effective system to weed out the smurfs and cheaters. I hope everyone gets to play a game they paid for!
5 Likes
I’m relieved since it means my friend and I can play again together, so our nightly games are back on track. But I really hope this doesn’t affect everybody else, I still think requiring a phone number is lame, just an account or authenticator would be enough, right?
4 Likes
Not all older players are a problem. I never cheated or ever had a smurf account. 
It is a better approach. Eventually, those alts will run out, which is smarter than literally locking a paying customers out just to stop smurfs.
Alternatively, stop being a big baby and play against smurfs. I’ve never seen a match where Smurf can just do as they please and the otherside literally can’t do anything. You know what I see? People ignoring the smurf, dying, and going “That’s a smurf, I literally will not try to fight them”.
The people who do that are a bunch of literal screaming toddlers, but thankfully I won’t lose access to my game because of them. I mean, they already took 2CP, they’ve taken enough from me.
2 Likes