, need to provide a phone number that fits certain requirements in order to start the game. As part of those requirements, numbers can’t be attached to a prepaid phone plan, landline, or use VOIP. ThoughBlizzard’s heart seems to be in the right place—the developer hopes the requirement will cut down “both cheating and disruptive behavior”—players like Richard are forgotten.
Prepaid phone plans like Cricket and Mint Mobile allow people to pay the cost of their usage up front. Though unfairly maligned as-type “burner phones,” prepaid phones are easier to incorporate into low-income budgets, with monthly cost usually between $15 and $50.
People realize that they could just use their parents phone numbers right
Mobile gamers 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
😂 not even close. They are trying to stop cheating. Don’t try to make this a story about nothing.
Their game, their rules I guess…
No one should game on a telephone 😂😂😂😂
If you have an Xbox and not a phone this is the least of your worries
Yeah and I ain't giving blizzard my phone number just for them to sell it to china or something
I know it’s not phone related but Capcom punishes people with Street Fighter all the time for being poor. Can’t touch V without buying add ons all day.
overwatchleague screw you guys
Even homeless people have cell phones
Cheaters ruining gaming even more Regular gamers shouldn’t be punished because you fear cheaters. Ridiculous
It’s literally to make it harder for people that want to cheat in game has nothing to do against poor people phone plans aren’t that expensive and who doesn’t have a cellphone no one I know
This game is NOT free. You’re paying with your data.
People complaining about smurfs which isn’t a big deal in the first place but forgetting that 38% of cell phone users are on prepaid plans.
This is why people shouldnt support Blizzard.. This, and MANY OTHER REASONS!
Moments before they announced they’re removing the sms requirement 😭
Lol online games are trash. Been saying it for years.
This requirement has been removed:
Also, those premium buyers who paid for lootboxes just wasted all their money because their data is being held hostage by Blizzard because they don't have a phone plan.
As if only poor people avoid plans. With internet messaging many people just don't have a constant plan.
Those poor smurfs.
If you can play game you have phone stop trying to make mountain ouf of nothing lol. Ye you need hardware to run it, you need to pay for internet access, you need to pay for electricity etc.
No one wants 5v5
Is it so hard to not just play the game. Overwatch 3 gonna ask for ur social security next to verify this is actually u and not a bot
Thats the idea. Poor people are being punished their whole life.
Yeah and you can thank rampant hackers for this and nothing else, because this is best way to keep them out. Everything else can be spoofed.
I'm more concerned with the fact that I put 100s of hours into overwatch and when I logged in today finally after 2 days it wiped everything from my overwatch 1 days and said I was a new player.
If u can’t afford a ligit phone u have bigger problems then playing overwatch
Every day, new info comes out that makes me happy I stopped playing Blizzard games.
They making u buy characters 😂 this game is already pay 2 win
“Lol just don’t be poor. It’s easy.” ~Some random rich guy.
LOL! U finally felt that? my cell don't run games since Marvel future fight!
I don't know about you, click bait Kotaku crappy writer, but most phones cost more than Xbox series s n
They should just get rid of it.
Bruh if you don't have a fuckin phone you shouldn't be playing games anyways.
Did prepaid get popular in Cali or something? You can get a similar price with way better service at almost any carrier... Especially Verizon since their prepaid is so expensive 🫰.
Literally no one has a console or gaming pc, internet access, AND all the peripherals necessary for playing games online and doesn't have a phone... This is literally a case of rage bait.
do you guys not have a phone?
This number would multiply if those problems were not present. I validated my account with a virtual number so I guess it is a matter of natural selection
Who has a console/pc but no phone in 2022 Also if anything it just boosts a the average player age and makes smurfing harder (thank god) but yeah another L kotaku post as usual
or you can't go play any other thing, bootlickers
You’ve all never played CS:GO before?
I must’ve used my phone number for my kids account cause it says my number is linked to another account so I just closed the game. It’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.
Blizzard seems to have spent more on social media meatriders than they have their actual servers based on these replies
100% I can’t play, gotta change my country to get a text message I’ll use once just to keep all my previous content. Currently waiting 16hrs ….. and I really wanna play it WTF
This DDOS Attack of people trying to overload the servers with multiple fake or spam profiles and hacking already day 1 are the prime examples of why we should have this. If you don't got a number ask to use someone's. Simpl.
I never thought God would allow people to buy an expensive ass pc or console and not think of buying a phone. I am dead. 💀💀💀
Blizzard making sure only people who are able to pay can play. Youd think we hit rock bottom but nope, theres room for a basement apparently.
i’ve seen homeless people with phones man
Really hope this restriction will be removed while finding another way to keep out toxicity and cheaters. No Pre-Paid is very crap and for people saying if you have a console or PC you can afford a phone is bull. (1/2)
Honestly if you can afford a system to play the game you should be able to afford a phone
Bruh wot How tf u got a console but no phone 😂 plus if ur a kid ask for ur dads phone or something
No no. I’m poor because I own a phone and console 😂
Kotaku with another banger
Why do you need my number any damn way for a video game
Do you want Smurf accounts? This is how you avoid Smurf accounts.
Let me open the vault and leave this here for now.
can yall read fo 2 seconds...
We should talk about “free to play” now, is OW2 free to play as far as without a battle pass and goodies? Yes. But is it free to play when it comes to all the good stuff with a season pass No. Another words, you want the goods you gonna pay so OW2 is NOT “free to play”.
People really be complaining about the stupidest things nowadays.
I still can’t play bruh /:
'It's like being punished for being poor'
Stupid decision
I hate that this clickbait title makes it look like it’s just punishing the poor it’s not, it’s punishing smurfs and what not. However, that being said people with Cricket wireless and other pre-paid phone plans are unable to play Overwatch 2 and that sucks.
Enforce perma-bans, ip band and hardware bans.
Then stop playing games and get a job.
Google has a thing where they can give you a spoof phone number
You don't understand the Smurf bs that happened to most players.
If you can afford a tv/Consol/pc you can afford a phone
Kotaku has endless bad takes.
This is the only and actually dumb thing to complain about.. When did anyone complain for a f2p game that his PC couldn't run on and blamed the devs for making it f2p for the rich or something..? Is this a joke article? So many things to complain about OW2 but this? No.
YOU’RE… YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO GIVE THEM YOUR PHONE NUMBER TO… PLAY A GAME
Sure…… but at the same time, I hate playing smurfs. Unless there is a better way to deal with them I’m all ears
'It's like being punished for being poor.’ It has always been like that in the real world, why so surprised
A lot of kids don't have phones either.
“You guys all have (non-prepaid) phones, right?”
You can buy a smartphone phone for like $30 lmao if you have a console or PC, you can probably afford a reg phone for authentication
What? So you have a PC to run OW2 but not a phone with a number?
Free phone numbers online. Do your research. 🙄🤡
Kids or so called 'poor' people can literally put ANYONE that they know phone number. Its really not that serious.
Blizzard is really making 'do you guys not have phones' their whole business model now
I understand the point of it but I still don’t want a company having my phone number just to play a game. It’s a great safety and Smurf/cheater deterrent
get your money up lil bro 💸💸
Why would you want to play this on your phone? Seriously.
Yep, I own multiple phones BlizzardCS and control a whole phone company to do something
I can't afford a console or pc, how do they expect me to play this game? 😡
Too poor for a phone but not poor enough to have a game console/cpu and internet? Total bs.
Just like twitter smfh….
Man, stop fucking crying for absolutely everything, JESUS
Not everyone can afford Postpaid service. Postpaid service requires a SSN and a decent credit rating or you will have to pay large down payments. PrePaid doesn’t require that. You bring your own device and pay month to month.
I feel like this is the definition of making a mountain out of a molehill
If you can’t afford a phone plan, how do you have a PC or Console?
If you can't afford a phone of any kind at all, then logging into overwatch should be the least of your worries.
I still cant believe i had to buy a consone to play overwatch 2. Hardly 'free to play' is it!
hell this phone barrier RN has completely LOCKED me out of my own account and bliozzard isnt helping me at all
FAIL
It told me my phone number was being used for another account
I think requiring a phone number is super weird. I don’t want to play because of that.
'As part of those requirements...the developer hopes the requirement will cut down “both cheating and disruptive behavior” How did they arrive at prepaid or voip phones = cheating or bad behavior? Makes me wonder if they're selling data or priming users for in-game content.
How do you have a computer but not a phone?
if you dont have phone then you have bigger problems then not being able to play OW2 and if you are using prepaid then change or dont whine.
Before any one comments about not having a phone please read the article
ahh yes to protect the game from cheaters, blizzard do you truly believe that people that can spend extra money on cheats doesn't have a phone to use... this shi is wild
Yea fr, they say “phone number optional. SIKE ITS ACTUALLY REQUIRED”. bullshit.
LIFE is punishment for not being rich.
Don't have phone number and I feel it . How I play
it helps with smurfs 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
who cares? more barriers for cheaters the better
If you have a device that can download and run the game you can afford a phone number
The game trash anyway don’t play it
I have 2 phones and it won't allow either of them...
This is perhaps the dumbest take I've heard... If you can afford to buy a console or pc you can afford a phone. These ppl claiming they can't afford are 100% cheaters and such
Even with a high end phone ain't touching no mobile games
I get it but also the line has to be drawn somewhere when staving off smurf accounts and attaching a number is currently the best way to do it.
OW2 Player Count: Online Players 154,962
For anyone wondering 'who has a console or pc but not a phone?' I don't have a phone right now because I have a mother that is sick with MS and I am having to help her with her MS everyday without a job. My family is in a tough spot and a phone for me is out of the question.
Anyone talking about the benefit of this denying many Smurf accounts? No? Just a bunch of people complaining as usual? Sounds good 🤣!
I mean, it sucks but as we saw yesterday with the DDoS attacks on the Overwatch launch, there's nefarious dudes out there who just want to crap all over everything. I don't fault Blizzard for needing to up account security.
How the hell do you have a computer that can play games and internet but not a phone in 2022. If this is you....get your life priorities straight and stop crying about your poor life decisions.
I used a virtual phone I made in 5 minutes
Well at least they're only missing out on broken servers right now
Where is The FOV Slider ?
Feels like it's the future unless we get some kind of south korea style iPin system.
😂 aye this is kinda dramatic.
So Blizzard wants to secure profit by targeting 'whales', they don't even want to waste revenue resources with people who just want to play hehehe
Is this for all platforms? I didn’t provide a phone and I still got in. (pc)
If you have a console or a gaming pc, you'll more than likely be able to afford a phone.
Dang a lot here sure didn’t read the article.
For those not willing to actually read the article as to why this sucks, it's not about owning a phone:
I thought we shouldn't be playing Blizzard games anymore anyway bc of the Cosby suite. Why do we care?
While it sucks if you can’t get a contract phone don’t blame Blizzard. Blame the hackers and cheaters.
'Cheap postpaid plans are 90 dollars'.. What the hell? My phone subscription costs 7€ per month. Is this a thing in the US?
So you have a gaming pc/console but no phone?
It's not that I'm poor I'm just not giving f*cking Blizzard access to my phone number and voice chats
How about they fix the piss poor monetization system. Extremely greedy.
We get it Kotaku you want OW2 to fail
AAAAAND makes heroes unavailable for new accounts, and new heroes locked behind a grindy battle pass
Is there nothing you won't bitch about?
I guess I can call Overwatch 2 a 'phone service 2 play' game. Eh? Terrible joke.
“Who doesn’t have a phone but does have a console or PC” You know things can break, right? Y’all this is not as cut and dry of an issue as you think it is Let alone the fact that people with pre-paid services can’t play either Y’all just disagreeing cause it’s Kotaku lmao
thats what i always say when the dealership doesn’t gift me the Mustang I want.
It’s for grievers and cheaters. OW has a history of these people. This is their solution to the problem.
I hope more media outlets pick this up. It's inexcusable that I can't play a game cause of my phone provider that literally any other service, even the very same platform I play on, will accept it for SMS verification.
Daughter is in grade 7, has a system, doesn’t have phone, cause I’m not paying for one yet. People do have systems without phones.
Sorry but if you have a console but not a phone then you need to get your priorities straight
Queue all the people bitching from their phones.
In what world are video games simply free to play, no matter what? This is utterly absurd.
What sort of a weird a$$ take is this? People don't have phones but have PCs capable of running Overwatch 2?! This will help reduce cheaters and that's good.
I’ve been saying this, esport titles need to have great accessibility with low system requirements and not having stuff like this. I’m playing it just fine but in general this is true
I live in a third world country and I'm able to play it
So someone who doesn't have a phone cause he's poor, will probably have a console or pc to play this 💀
Or creates a way for you to enjoy the game without being flooded by Smurf accounts But, you know, that narrative doesn’t give you clicks huh
What a stupid argument. Same could be said about any game exclusive to any console that someone can't afford.
My country is at war yet I have no problems? It's simply an anti-smurf/cheater measure
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