Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 may have the controversial "SMS Protect" feature found in Overwatch 2. The latter has been out for near a week as of this writing, and its launch has been troubled to say the least. Among a plethora of server issues and bugs in Overwatch 2 is its requirement that players need a phone number to play. This feature is meant to prevent smurfing and other forms of cheating, but it also denies access to players the world over.
Specifically, this is because Overwatch 2 won't allow prepaid phone numbers. On the one hand, it makes sense because of burner phones, but this denies access to far more players than those who would use burner phones. Some no-contract providers who still bill regularly fall under "prepaid" such as Cricket Wireless, while other providers of that exact same nature have reportedly worked. Furthermore, if the phone number someone owns has EVER been a prepaid number, it can prevent users from accessing the game. It's not consistent, it's controversial, it prevents access to low-income players (who would benefit the most from Overwatch 2 going "free-to-play"), and it seems it's coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
As first spotted by VGC, Language on Battle.net states that "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, newly created Overwatch 2 accounts, and newly created Call of Duty: Modern Warfare accounts require a phone number." It further clarifies that messaging apps like iMessages, WhatsApp, prepaid phone numbers, and VoIP will not work, putting Modern Warfare 2 into the same basket as Overwatch 2. It should be noted that, if anyone is playing both (or intending to), then obviously their number may be safe or perhaps they found access to another number, but in the grand scheme of things, it's not proving to be a popular feature.
It should be noted that Activision has yet to officially announce this, so while this information comes directly from Battle.net, it's worth taking with a grain of salt. The phone number requirement for Overwatch 2 wasn't announced until a few days before launch, so it's likely the same for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, but Activision could choose to repeal this decision before its release later this month.
Nonetheless, it's not exactly simple, but it is possible to work around this. Some apps reportedly work if someone puts a dollar into them, while asking friends and family with different plans can get players access to a phone number. It's doable, if frustrating. But it also underlines how, if absolutely legit players are having to jump through these hoops to just play the game normally, then the feature may actually be encouraging players to circumvent the rules, which is ironic. If anything, a game like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 requiring a phone number is only going to encourage more of this behavior.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 releases on October 28 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: VGC
