Modern Warfare 2 will have the same pre-paid/VOIP phone restrictions as Overwatch 2

Activision Blizzard's upcoming shooter, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, seemingly features the same mobile phone requirements that have recently plagued Overwatch 2 players. 

Just days after Overwatch 2's release, Blizzard was forced to walk back a decision that barred players with prepaid or VOIP phone numbers from signing up to play – something that will still affect Modern Warfare 2 players.

Overwatch 2's mobile verification system was already causing a headache for some players ahead of launch, but the problem was exacerbated during launch with the realization that Blizzard didn't accept pre-paid or shared phone numbers. Despite the game's free-to-play status, that all-but locked out younger players or those who might not be able to afford a long-term monthly contract.

Blizzard later updated players about some of the bigger issues that players have faced over the past couple of days, including the controversial SMS Protect feature. Although intended to combat negative behavior by holding toxic players to account, Blizzard now says that it has "made the decision to remove phone number requirements".

However, that by no means fixes the issue for all Overwatch 2 fans, and the issue persists for Modern Warfare 2 players, too.

"Adding a phone number will allow Blizzard Entertainment to send you notifications when important changes are made to your account," states the phone notifications page on the Battle.net support site.

"Any mobile phone in a supported country with a data plan, and that is not prepaid or a VOIP number, can be used with this service."

"This seems very wrong to require videogame players to enter into a contract with a telecom company before being allowed to play the game they paid for," an unhappy player told PC Gamer when they realized they couldn't access the beta test.

"Especially when prepaid phone plans like mine are becoming more and more common. It isn’t the gas station special of yesteryear anymore, I have an iPhone and a phone plan that works no different in practice than any other contract plan: Unlimited talk, text, data etc. Yet because I make a monthly payment I am somehow ineligible to play future Activision titles?"

There are plenty of big titles on our upcoming PS5 games and upcoming Xbox Series X games lists that you can get stuck into while you wait for Modern Warfare 2.