How will Modern Warfare 2's SMS protection differ from Overwatch 2's controversial feature

Modern Warfare 2 is undoubtedly the most anticipated title in Call of Duty's history. While the fanbase is yet to experience the most ambitious project of the franchise so far, recent news got them worried.

Previously, Battle.net's official website revealed a piece of information which announced that all players will be required to give their phone numbers to get access to Modern Warfare 2 and the newly introduced SMS protocol system will be similar to Overwatch 2.

As Overwatch 2 curried a great deal of controversy, the Call of Duty fanbase was anxious that they might face the same. However, a recent update from Activision revealed that Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0's SMS requirement system will not be the same as Overwatch 2.

To learn more about the policy, read below.

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Modern Warfare 2 will officially not implement the controversial Overwatch 2 SMS protocol

Activision's recently updated SMS Security Policy has informed players that the requirement will be the same as players had to do for Warzone in 2020 and a mobile number must be linked to the Steam account to access Modern Warfare 2.

However, for players on all platforms, this will not be the same and the said requirements are only applicable for PC players. This is to ensure that the franchise can take immediate action against cheaters.

The same system was enabled in August 2022. Before that, new players can access the free-to-play battle royale experience without using any SMS verification protocol. However, after a huge surge of cheaters taking over the maps in Warzone, it was difficult for the franchise to keep the gameplay fair and square among the community.

"As the illicit account market adjusted to our security enforcement, #TeamRICOCHET started seeing more cheaters attempt to access Warzone from Modern Warfare to bypass the SMS policy."

Since Call of Duty is going to provide Ricochet Anti cheat with a kernel-level driver at Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0 launch, the newly implemented system will ensure that the game experience will be much smoother.

Previously, Battle.net's update policy stated:

• Messaging apps like iMessage (iOS) or WhatsApp (iOS, Android) are not supported.
• Mobile phones with prepaid plans may not work with the phone notification service.
• Phone notifications cannot be used with Voice over IP (VoIP), and VoIP numbers that are transferred to a local provider are not eligible for the service.

The same system was introduced in Overwatch 2 and fans were clearly not happy about this. With the massive controversy, Blizzard had to subdue the requirements. With Activision having published a set of requirements, Call of Duty fans can now take a breath of fresh air.

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Modern Warfare 2 is all set to be released on October 28 and players who pre-purchased the game will be able to access the campaign starting October 20.

Following Modern Warfare 2, Warzone 2.0 will be released on November 16. With a fully-fledged battle royale, Call of Duty is also introducing a brand new mode called DMZ, the franchise's take on the Extraction type game mode. Players will be able to play it for free with Warzone 2.0 at launch.