As part of Blizzard Entertainment’s Defense Matrix security and anti-toxicity initiative, the company was originally requiring everyone who wants to play Overwatch 2 to verify their phone through SMS Protect. In a blog post released a week before the game’s launch, the company revealed that players would need to connect a postpaid phone number to their Battle.net account to get into the game.
After almost a week of backlash from fans and the game’s community, the team at Blizzard has adjusted its policy to make the process more welcoming to all players. Any player who played the original Overwatch with a connected Battle.net account, which automatically includes everyone who played the game on or after June 9, 2021, will not need to connect a phone number to play Overwatch 2. Old accounts that were not connected to Battle.net and all new accounts will still need to input a postpaid phone number to play the game.
So, why you do need a postpaid phone number to make a new Overwatch 2 account?
SMS Protect and you
To answer that question, we first need to look at why SMS Protect exists at all. Blizzard calls it an “industry-proven solution” that helps fight cheaters, hackers, and toxic players. SMS Protect is a form of what’s called two-factor authentication, which adds an extra layer of security to your account. If you ever get locked out of your account or forget your password—or your account is compromised by someone else—having a verified phone number connected to your account gives Blizzard a way to confirm that the account belongs to you.
In Defense Matrix, SMS Protect is being used specifically to prevent disruptive players from making multiple accounts or returning after they’ve been banned. Under the specifications, a single phone number can only ever be connected to one account. This means that if an account that’s connected to your phone number is banned, you can’t make another account with the same phone number and start playing again.
Because new accounts require a phone number, you can’t make a smurf or alternate account without a new number. The goal is to prevent disruptive players from jumping back into the game as soon as they’re banned, especially since the barrier of a $60 price tag is no longer in place.
Postpaid vs. prepaid
That brings us to postpaid phone numbers. Postpaid phone numbers are connected to plans where you pay for service at the end of the month following an analysis of your usage. In contrast, prepaid phone numbers are paid for upfront, before your service begins. Generally, you’re paying for a certain amount of data or phone minutes. Once you’ve hit that limit, you won’t be able to access service until the next month. Postpaid phone numbers can be used to fulfill SMS Protect, while prepaid phone numbers aren’t allowed.
So why isn’t Blizzard allowing prepaid phone numbers? Prepaid phone plans are generally easier to acquire at local retailers than postpaid phone plans. Simply put, it believes some players who are banned for cheating or toxicity will simply head to a nearby store, purchase an inexpensive prepaid phone plan, and use that phone number to make another account and rejoin the game. If you think this sounds a little extreme, note that people went to far greater measures to get around bans in the first Overwatch.
Blizzard isn’t messing around when it comes to stamping out toxicity and players who don’t care about fairness—and requiring a postpaid phone number for new or more recent accounts is one of the ways it’s attempting to shut out bad actors. It remains to be seen whether the company will change its policy again in the future, but for now, if you’re new to Overwatch 2, you’ll need to connect a postpaid phone number to your account to play.
