Overwatch 2 backtracks partially on SMS Protect, bug fixes coming

“We have made the decision to remove phone number requirements for a majority of existing Overwatch players”

An Overwatch 2 SMS requirement became a hot topic in the last week or so, after it was revealed so close to launch: but that’s no longer going to be a thing for a subset of players.

Taking to the official Blizzard forums to talk about the launch, the subject of SMS Protect came up. In short, Blizzard has “made the decision to remove phone number requirements for a majority of existing Overwatch players,” with a fix expected to roll out on October 7. This entails a lack of a requirement for “any Overwatch player with a connected Battle.net account, which includes all players who have played since June 9, 2021.” For anyone who fits that bill, it’s good news, as they were likely the most dedicated players who balked at it. There’s also been an issue with prepaid phones that Blizzard has sidestepped in their explanation.

In other happenings, the launch has been a bit rocky. While Blizzard addressed server stability on October 5, it seems like they’re providing a bit more info as to what is happening in the aforementioned forum post. To sum it all up, “login queues, server crashes, and stability problems are intertwined.” The queue issue is due to two queues happening simultaneously (one for the game, one for Battle.net), all of which shouldn’t be visible. The queue process is now “simplified,” and there’s only one to navigate. As far as stability goes a “critical” server has been patched to help, and “another server update” is on the way. More nodes are being added as well, which is a slow process, to “not cause any further disruption.”

Lastly, Blizzard also addressed account merge issues and incorrectly locked heroes. The publisher urges folks to fully complete any account merge requirements: but in many other cases, “things are just taking longer than expected,” and no data is apparently lost. Another fix is being deployed next week to alleviate transfer problems.

This is most of the big stuff, and with any luck, they’ll have the game running smoother before the weekend. If you’re following along, Blizzard has a full list of known issues here.

Chris Carter

Reviews Director, Co-EIC – Chris has been enjoying Destructoid avidly since 2008. He finally decided to take the next step, make an account, and start blogging in January of 2009. Now, he’s staff!