Blizzard has addressed the phone number issue and other launch problems, with the first update after the launch of Overwatch 2.
Blizzard explained that the phone number requirement is primarily intended to disrupt cheating. Unfortunately, as many fans had pointed out, what this ended up doing is making it harder for players who cannot afford their own phones from being able to register and play.
So Blizzard has made this specific exception. If you were an Overwatch player with a connected Battle.net account, you won’t have to give a phone number to be able to register and play. They will be setting this up as early as October 7, 2022, but Blizzard will also notify fans once it goes live. Reading the fine details, this does not address the issue for everyone who would want to play, but it will probably be enough for most players, and particularly players of the first Overwatch.
When we first reported on the phone requirement for Overwatch 2, Blizzard explained that the phone numbers will actually be connected to those Battle.net accounts as well. This verification will also be required so that players can get access to voice chat. All of these measures are generally intended to keep the game secure.
The implementation of the system was also flawed. Launch issues included players unable to link their phone numbers, or not receiving the corresponding SMS that will allow them to verify their account. Some players received a message informing them that their phone number was already used. This latter situation could already be a few cases of players already getting their identities stolen, and a possible vulnerability to the system Blizzard put in place.
Blizzard also addressed the more common issues players have been facing after they have set up their accounts. They explained that the system was actually showing them queues going through Battle.Net, and then a second one for the game itself. This gave the misleading impression that players were being kicked out of queues, so Blizzard has changed the way the system displays this information.
With all that said there are real issues with stability and server crashes, that Blizzard is also taking steps to address.
If you played Overwatch on a console, you will need to merge that account with a Battle.Net account to play Overwatch 2. You can learn the why and how here, but unfortunately, this merge system has also not been working properly at launch.
Blizzard explained some players were experiencing a minor bug that they addressed with a UI fix. Others were dealing with a similarly small bug that stopped players from logging in after a successful account merge. This has also been addressed.
However, most players with account merge problems were dealing with the delay for items from the original Overwatch to carry over to Overwatch 2. Blizzard has a fix already waiting for next week for this, but they are also looking into simpler solutions they can deploy sooner.
There was one final issue where players who already earned heroes and items did not receive them. In this case, logging back into the game should resolve the issue. If you happen to be one of those players who try this and it is not resolved by logging back in, you need to send them a customer support ticket here.
To sum, Blizzard clarified that none of these issues were actually because of the DDoS attack. These were all bugs that weren’t caught by the developers before launch, or in the case of the phone number requirement, a situation where they could not foresee other consequences. That DDoS attack instead made it harder and take longer for Blizzard to identify and address these issues, but Blizzard is committed to delivering the live service experience fans want and expect.
Overwatch 2 is free to play on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
Source: Blizzard Forums
