Why does Overwatch 2 need a phone number? Account creation process listed

Overwatch 2’s release has been building up for a few months, and it is finally available to play. Blizzard Entertainment introduced its new title as a free-to-play, unlike its prequel released in 2016. Fans will notice several differences in Overwatch 2 that did not exist in the former game.

A free-to-play multiplayer entails many risks that concern the entire gaming community. Despite incorporating the best anti-cheat software, there will be people who try to tamper with and use third-party applications to gain an unfair advantage over other players in Overwatch 2.

Blizzard has addressed this issue and stated the use of a mandatory rule to bind a player’s phone number to their respective account for them to be able to access Overwatch 2.

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How to create a new account and add a phone number to a Blizzard account for Overwatch 2?

Account creation

To access the Battle.net client platform, players must have an account in the domain. Users can follow the process below for a step-by-step introduction to account creation.

• Go to Blizzard’s official website by clicking here.
• Navigate to the top right corner of the screen and click on “My Account.”
• Select “Create a Free Account” from the drop-down menu.
• The first step is selecting the account region and entering the user’s birth date. Users can also use Google, Facebook, or Apple ID to create an account on this screen.
• Enter your real first and last name and click on continue.
• Enter a valid email ID that will be used to create the Battle.net account.
• Check the agreement checkboxes in the next step and click on continue.
• Choose a suitable password with a strength indicator below the text field.
• Then choose a tag name that will be used as the display name for your account. This name will be your public identity and can be changed for free only once later.
• Click on continue, redirecting to another page confirming the account creation.

With the account set up and ready to go, players can directly click on “Account Settings” from the successful account creation page. Players can now go back to Battle.net and log in using their credentials in the “My Account” option.

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Phone number binding

Follow the below-listed steps to bind a phone number to the logged-in account.

• After logging in to the account, click on the public display name in the top right corner and select the “Account Settings” option from the drop-down menu.
• Navigate to the screen's left list, select “Account Details,” and scroll down to the “Phone Number” segment on the main screen.
• Add your phone number by clicking “Add phone number” and then entering the number and checking the acknowledgment tick box below the field.
• A one-time password will be texted to the number that needs to be entered on the screen, and then the phone number will be verified and bound to the account.

Users can opt to remove the phone number bound to the account by navigating to the same screen and removing the added phone number. The removal process requires account owner authentication for added security.

Users can download the Battle.net client directly now and login using their credentials. After logging in, users can navigate to the Overwatch tab in the client and choose to install the game.

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Blizzard has made it mandatory for players to bind their phone numbers to their respective accounts to reduce the number of unsavory players who might use cheats and other third-party software to win matches in Overwatch 2.

Using this method, Blizzard can ban the accounts of cheaters and other players and prevent them from making new accounts. This is a significant step to keep the experience of Overwatch 2 enjoyable and skill-based simultaneously.