Blizzard Updates Overwatch 2's SMS Requirement, Acknowledges Bugs

Blizzard has officially changed its SMS requirement for Overwatch 2 players. On Friday, Community Manager Jodie Mckaughan shared an update on Blizzard's forum and addressed several bugs associated with the game's launch.

The SMS requirement, which was originally a prerequisite to play the game, was one of the many problems associated with Overwatch 2's release Tuesday. The most significant issues involved players being locked out when using a single phone number for more than one account, or when using a prepaid phone number when activating their SMS protection.

In the update, Mckaughan announced that existing Overwatch players who have had their Battle.net account connected to their game, including those who have been playing since June 2021, will no longer need to utilize SMS protection. The change, which Blizzard initially announced Thursday, will serve as a fix for players who also have opened service tickets regarding the use of their phone numbers.

Additionally, Blizzard fixed some bugs, including merging accounts, which is said to have some resolution as Blizzard developers "now have more bandwidth to complete these merges." Other bugs, such as Watchpoint Pack items not appearing, the LC-208 error, and crashes, were said to have fixes implemented by Friday, at the earliest. Lastly, Mckaughan addressed matchmaking wait times, saying relief could arrive in the days to come as Blizzard will "continue looking into the matchmaking queues through the weekend to identify any additional improvements we can make."

At the end of the update, Mckaughan also added that another update will be shared on the forum within the next week, which possibly could share some more specific insight on the bugs affecting gameplay.