Modern Warfare 2 console players won't need to provide their phone number

Overwatch 2 finally released last week, and it’s fair to say that on the whole, fans have been having a good time with it. The servers were predictably overwhelmed at launch, although I don’t think anyone was expecting the queues to play to be as long as they were. It seems that players found a good way to pass the time while they were waiting, though, as it was revealed that D.Va recently surged to the top of PornHub’s searches. ‘Nerf this’ indeed.

Server issues aside, there were some complaints about the fact that, at launch, players were required to add their phone numbers, presumably in an effort to stop people from making multiple accounts (and therefore potentially avoid bans). This policy was soon updated so that players who already had a connected Battle.net account (including all who’ve played since 9 June 2021), would no longer need to add a number. However, this raised the question of whether a similar requirement would be put in place for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, but Activision have now clarified that this won’t be the case - at least for console players.

Take a look at some gameplay footage from Modern Warfare II below.

As reported by PSU, a blog post on the Call of Duty website has confirmed that PC players will need a text-enabled mobile phone number in order to play, but anyone with an existing verified Warzone account won’t need to do anything new to play MWII or Warzone 2.0. This policy is, after all, the same as the one that was introduced to Warzone in 2020, so that makes sense. MWII players on Steam will need to add their number to their Steam account in order to play. 

“SMS verification is critical to our anti-cheat enforcement efforts, tackling illicit account creation at its source,” the post reads. "This helps our security team to maintain account and game security in order to provide a safe, fair, and fun gaming experience for all our players.”

There was no mention at all of console players having to add their numbers, so unless there’s been an error or miscommunication, it certainly seems that only PC players will be affected by this. It was added that phone numbers are used purely for security purposes, and won’t be used for marketing.