Overwatch 2's free-to-play nature should mean it's accessible to each players with a compatible device. However, a broadside effect of a caller information measurement from Blizzard is leaving immoderate users retired successful the cold.

Over connected Twitter, idiosyncratic Jack Saint brought the community's attraction to Overwatch 2's SMS Protect policy, which says each players indispensable link a telephone fig to their battle.net relationship to motorboat Overwatch 2.

blizzard isn't letting radical play overwatch 2 if they have... a prepaid telephone plan?? pic.twitter.com/NkVOMuFGDJ

Blizzard made this quality public past week, but the players lone began noticing connected a larger standard aft the crippled went unrecorded yesterday. According to a news release connected Overwatch's authoritative website, the SMS Protect functionality is simply a solution to combat "both cheating and disruptive behavior" successful Overwatch 2. Part of the merchandise says the following:

"Starting October 4, 2022, each players crossed each platforms, including consoles, are required to person a telephone fig attached to their battle.net relationship to motorboat Overwatch 2. The aforesaid telephone fig cannot beryllium utilized connected aggregate accounts astatine the aforesaid time, and players can’t usage the aforesaid telephone fig to make aggregate accounts. A telephone fig tin lone beryllium utilized erstwhile once making a caller account, and definite types of numbers, including pre-paid and VOIP, cannot beryllium utilized for SMS Protect."

The portion that's causing problems is the past sentence, wherever it says prepaid telephone plans are not eligible for SMS Protect. Prepaid telephone plans, from companies similar Cricket Wireless, necessitate users to wage the measure earlier receiving service. These plans besides seldom necessitate a contract, making them a much charismatic enactment for radical who can't spend oregon don't privation to walk arsenic overmuch wealth connected a declaration telephone program from Verizon oregon T-Mobile. Unfortunately, these are the radical Overwatch 2 is presently excluding due to the fact that of the SMS Protect requirement.

For example, successful a station connected r/Overwatch, 1 idiosyncratic said this telephone request made them consciousness atrocious astir having a prepaid telephone plan, penning successful part, "I'm truly upset and oddly ashamed for not gathering this 'standard'. Never thought I would beryllium disqualified from playing overwatch based connected my quality [to] spend a telephone contract, but present we are... Blizzard is the archetypal institution to marque maine consciousness excessively mediocre to play a game."

And, it's not arsenic if Overwatch fans with prepaid telephone plans tin adjacent instrumentality to the archetypal game, either, arsenic Blizzard unopen down the Overwatch servers to hole for the sequel's motorboat this week. Rather, players who motorboat Overwatch volition beryllium prompted to update to Overwatch 2. Blizzard made the determination to unopen down Overwatch 1 successful bid to clasp a unified subordinate basal successful the caller game.

When IGN reached for comment, Blizzard responded, saying, "We program to code this sometime soon, perchance this afternoon." We volition update this communicative erstwhile Blizzard addresses the deficiency of entree for users with prepaid telephone plans.

That's not the lone contented Overwatch 2 faces during its motorboat week, arsenic players online are besides complaining astir lengthy queues. Multiple posts connected Twitter mention hold queues with upwards of 20,000 radical successful enactment up of them.

This isn't uncommon for monolithic online games during their motorboat window, arsenic Final Fantasy XIV fans are nary uncertainty acquainted with. Blizzard besides told IGN determination volition beryllium a connection aboriginal contiguous addressing the server hold times.

Beyond each this, the large headlines yesterday surrounded the pair of DDoS attacks Overwatch 2 suffered connected its motorboat day. So if you jumped into Overwatch 2 soon aft launch, you apt experienced dropped games oregon different transportation issues arsenic Blizzard worked to hole server issues and stability.

Underneath each of these problems, determination is simply a bully crippled determination wrong Overwatch 2. In our review, we called the sequel great, saying "Overwatch 2 breathes caller beingness into what was erstwhile the sharpest multiplayer shooter around, earlier it had its edges severely dulled by Blizzard’s attraction shifting away."

Logan Plant is simply a freelance writer for IGN covering video crippled and amusement news. He has implicit six years of acquisition successful the gaming manufacture with bylines astatine IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him connected Twitter @LoganJPlant.