If you’ve played Call of Duty: Warzone on the PC, you’ll know that the game requires you to verify your account via a text-enabled phone number. The publisher took this measure due to reports that banned players and cheaters kept returning to Warzone by buying accounts. By requiring a unique phone number per account, Activision Blizzard hoped to cut down on the game’s rampant cheating problem. Given that Activision Blizzard insists on applying the same security process for MW2 (and Warzone 2.0), it’s safe to say that it works. Team Ricochet, the anti-cheat team behind the Call of Duty franchise, confirmed that both Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2, which comes out on the 28th and November 16, respectively, will be using the exact same verification requirement by Warzone. In addition, Steam players will need to link a phone number to their account as well, in order to play the incoming shooter using Valve’s digital games distribution platform. Team Ricochet describes this as a “critical” step that will help stop “illicit account creation at its source.” It’s interesting that Activision Blizzard is doing different things for its latest games. “SMS Protect” initiative for Overwatch 2 was immediately panned by critics and players alike, especially since the players saw it as discrimination against the poor. It’s worth noting that the measure doesn’t support prepaid cell phones. It’s possible that Activision Blizzard will bring back “SMS Protect” to Overwatch 2 down the line, especially if cheating and toxic behavior becomes rampant. With only a few weeks to go before it comes out, we’re curious to see how Modern Warfare 2 will fare compared to Overwatch 2 when it comes to the implementation of this divisive feature. In other news, Activision Blizzard revealed the rewards for completing the Modern Warfare 2 campaign as an added sweetener. Also, we’re still waiting on confirmation if the popular footballers leak about becoming playable characters in MW2 is true or not.
