The upcoming release of Modern Warfare 2 promises to bring Call of Duty back to the modern age with its next multiplayer game, but it does require a phone number to be linked to play. It doesn't seem too blatant at first glance, but Blizzard's Battle.net site has some weird clarifications that could prevent a significant number of people from playing FPS for no good reason.
The phone notifications article notes that a "phone number [is] required to access some games," which includes Modern Warfare 2, newly created Overwatch 2 accounts, and newly created Modern Warfare accounts. On the surface, using phone numbers to identify real players rather than bots and to increase security through two-factor authentication is a good thing. Unfortunately, implementing this requirement for the release of Modern Warfare 2 will result in many players not being able to play the games at all.
The article states that "prepaid mobile phones may not work with the phone notification service," meaning that if you don't have a monthly contract and instead pay for phone credit, you may not even be able to create an account Modern Warfare 2 when the game hits the market and hence don't play the game.
On top of that, only one phone number can be associated with a Battle.net account, and there doesn't currently appear to be a way to get another number or easily change it in time for Modern Warfare 2's release. According to another official article, "quantity limitation free accounts that can be created by one person helps players be accountable for their actions and in turn reduces toxicity and cheating, while also providing a positive community experience for all players."
Overwatch 2 also suffered from a similar issue during its recent launch, and after receiving feedback, Blizzard decided to make small changes to the phone verification system. The studio has removed the phone number requirement for "the majority of existing Overwatch players," meaning all players with an account as of June 9, 2021 will not need a phone number to play.
However, new accounts in Overwatch 2 and Modern Warfare 2 still require a phone number, which means a significant portion of new players will experience this issue depending on their phone contracts.
It's not yet clear if Activision Blizzard will reverse these phone security decisions, but it's safe to say that now, in order to reduce toxicity, they will restrict player groups in Modern Warfare 2 and Overwatch 2.
All information about Modern Warfare 2 phone requirements can be found on the official Battle.net blog page .
