While Activision-Blizzard has chosen to skip the phone verification system on Overwatch 2, the American publisher has confirmed that this procedure will remain in place for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0.
Decidedly, it is to believe that Activision-Blizzard no longer knows on which foot to dance. As you may know, the American publisher had introduced a new verification system on Overwatch 2 called SMS Protect. To ensure the authenticity of player accounts, players were required to provide their phone number.
Only, this process left out many players, in particular those who hold a number linked to a prepaid SIM card or a VOIP telephone. Without forgetting those like the youngest who do not necessarily have assigned numbers. Finally and in front of the discontent of the players, Blizzard had chosen to withdraw this verification system, in any case for the players who already had a Battle.net account since June 9, 2021.
In parallel with this controversy, Activision had announced for its part that this telephone verification system was going to be in effect on Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0. A news that obviously provoked the anger of the community. And while we thought that the American publisher was going to backtrack again, ultimately this will not be the case.
Activision confirms phone verification on MW2 and Warzone 2.0
In a new blog post, Activision has confirmed that a phone number will be required to play Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0, on PC at least. “The SMS policy for Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 on Battle.net is the same as that required for Call of Duty: Warzone on PC, which was implemented in May 2020. A mobile phone number must be linked to your Steam account to play Modern Warfare 2 on that platform”, explains the company.
Activision justifies itself by assuring that SMS verification is “essential” to his efforts to fight against fraud, since it directly attacks the illicit creation of new accounts. Indeed, this method prevents banned players from creating new accounts with a simple email address.
In August 2022, remember that the company introduced this SMS verification system on Modern Warfare of 2019 to combat cheating in Warzone, then ubiquitous. “Prior to this change, new Modern Warfare accounts could access Warzone without an SMS security check. As the market for illicit accounts adapted to our security application, TeamRicochet began to see more cheaters attempting to access Warzone from within Modern Warfare to circumvent the SMS policy,” reveals Activision. That’s why this system was added. Activision has clarified that your phone number will be used only for security, and not for marketing purposes. Still happy.
