Blizzard is removing SMS Protect verification for old accounts and is already making a number of bug fixes and other improvements.
Same Blizzard admitted that the launch of Overwatch 2 did not live up to expectations. In a new post detailing the game’s rollout situation, the studio apologizes to players and addresses the long list of bugs and issues it has encountered since the first-person shooter launched.
Blizzard removes SMS Protect verification for old accounts
One of the biggest updates to the game is removing the need for old players to link a phone number to Battle.net in order to play. As long as they have a Battle.net account connected, which is the case for all players who have accessed the first Overwatch since June 9, 2021, they have been relieved of this obligation.
Blizzard had made SMS Protect, which asks players to link a phone number to their Battle.net account, necessary to access Overwatch, this to make it more difficult to cheat and troll in the game. Unfortunately, this system does not always work with numbers associated with prepaid offers, and that is the whole problem. While some customers of Mint – an American operator – have been able to link their number to SMS Protect without worry, players on the Cricket network – another American operator – have never been able to do so. As Kotaku reports, fans may feel punished or ashamed “for being poor.”
The developer has therefore taken the decision to withdraw this obligation as a result of these problems. The change should be effective from October 7. Blizzard explained, however, that it will remain “committed to combating harmful behavior”, which explains why new accounts and old ones who have never been connected to Battle.net before will need to pass SMS Protect verification in order to play. .
And already brings a number of bug fixes and other improvements
The company has also made some changes to simplify the queuing process. Players will no longer see their slot jump hundreds or thousands of slots in either direction. Additionally, it is working to stabilize authentication to prevent players from getting dropped out of line or not being able to connect at all. A server update is also in progress to reduce the risk of disconnection once in the game. Regarding the missing items in the inventories, Blizzard explained that the problem is caused by an unfinished merger of accounts or by items that simply take longer to bring back from the old game.
These concerns, as Blizzard explains in its announcement, were “exacerbated by DDoS attacks” suffered during launch. Although the attacks did not directly cause these problems, they made “the environment in which [l’équipe travaille] on these problems more difficult.” The director of Overwatch 2, Aaron Keller, explained that the team was working through a second DDoS attack on launch day, but since then the attackers have reportedly calmed down. Blizzard said it “did not suffer from additional attacks”. Hopefully the studio can now fix these bugs quickly.