“It feels similar being punished for being poor,” Overwatch subordinate Richard Meunster told Kotaku over email. Along with 19 cardinal different people, Richard and his member some usage Cricket Wireless, 1 of the prepaid telephone services that Overwatch 2 volition not judge for its recently instated, mandatory two-factor authentication system, SMS Protect.

Every azygous Overwatch 2 player, including those who had antecedently purchased Overwatch, request to supply a telephone fig that fits definite requirements successful bid to commencement the game. As portion of those requirements, numbers can’t beryllium attached to a prepaid telephone plan, landline, oregon usage VOIP. Though what remains of Blizzard’s bosom seems to beryllium successful the close place—the developer hopes the request volition chopped down “both cheating and disruptive behavior”—players similar Richard are forgotten. Not due to the fact that they don’t play good oregon don’t attraction oregon don’t privation to person fun, but due to the fact that they can’t spend the close benignant of phone.

Prepaid telephone plans similar Cricket and Mint Mobile let radical to wage the outgo of their usage up front. Though unfairly maligned arsenic Breaking Bad-type “burner phones,” prepaid phones are easier to incorporated into low-income budgets, with monthly outgo usually betwixt $15 and $50. Some companies similar AT&T adjacent advertise prepaid services straight to low-income customers.

Richard, a assemblage student, uses Cricket’s $50 monthly program due to the fact that “if you can’t wage it that period they conscionable unopen down the telephone alternatively of taking you to collections.”

“If I get a regular telephone program and past can’t pay, my recognition people gets destroyed,” helium said.

At 1 constituent successful 2020, determination were 74 million prepaid telephone program users successful the U.S. alone. Richard is acold from being the lone Overwatch player being phased out.

“I americium ashamed of having a prepaid phone,” 1 Reddit user, who posted successful r/Overwatch and received 1 1000 upvotes successful little than 24 hours, said. “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.”

Read More: Be Prepared For These 7 Big Overwatch 2 Gameplay Changes

“Cannot judge Blizzard is denying radical with prepaid telephone plans entree to Overwatch 2,” one Twitter idiosyncratic wrote. “Why does it substance however I wage my telephone bill?? 6 years of my life, each the time, money, and advancement down the drain.”

Blizzard’s telephone restrictions look to chiefly and wide impair U.S. prepaid telephone program users, and the institution did not instrumentality Kotaku’s petition for remark successful clip for publication. Prepaid telephone users successful different countries have reported being capable to log into the crippled problem-free, which immoderate players speculate could either beryllium due to the fact that their state necessitates recognition successful bid to acquisition a prepaid phone, oregon due to the fact that Blizzard has lone banned known prepaid telephone plans.

“This is wherefore the strategy isn’t going to halt hackers or smurfs,” 1 Reddit idiosyncratic wrote. They’ll conscionable usage a virtual fig work that Blizz don’t cognize about.”

While Blizzard works it out, Richard and countless different low-income prepaid telephone users are hurting.

“It feels similar a ample injustice,” Richard said. “Cheap postpaid plans are astir $90. If you are a prepaid telephone proprietor who truly wants to play Overwatch 2, you are looking astatine $50 much a period to get a Blizzard-approved phone. Talk astir going free-to-play.”