Only PC players have to register a phone number to play Modern Warfare 2

A new blog post detailing Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s Ricochet anti-cheat strategy has revealed that only PC players will be asked to register a phone number before they can play the game. This is different from the blanket phone registration requirements that Activision Blizzard implemented for Overwatch 2’s Defense Matrix at that game’s launch at the beginning of this month, before removing them for most players last week. Modern Warfare 2 players on both Battle.net and Steam will need to register a number.

“A text-enabled mobile phone number is required to play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II on PC,” the blog post said. “Existing Call of Duty: Warzone players that have previously verified their account will not be required to provide any additional information to access Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0.” Activision Blizzard say the phone requirement is no different from that of Warzone’s, which has been in place since May 2020.

During Modern Warfare 2’s beta in September, more than 20,000 accounts were banned. Activision Blizzard said the phone requirement for Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2 is “critical” for handling cheaters, and tackles “illicit account creation at its source”. The requirement for Modern Warfare 2 follows on from SMS verification being added to Modern Warfare for new players in August. That change was down to Warzone players attempting to bypass SMS verification by accessing it through Modern Warfare, the Ricochet team said.

I reported at the start of this week that Modern Warfare 2 players would need to register a phone number, and that Activision Blizzard warned pre-paid, or pay-as-you-go, numbers “may not work”. The company didn’t specify then that only PC players would be the only ones needing to register. Oh well, as Graham noted, at least we get 4K and support for ultrawide monitors, right?

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 ziplines onto Steam and Battle.net on October 28th for £60/$70/€70. You can read the full Ricochet progress report blog post here.

Activision Blizzard publish Call Of Duty and they're still facing law suits alleging a workplace culture of sexual harassment and discrimination. Microsoft also intend to buy Activision Blizzard, although the deal is currently under investigation by UK regulators over competition concerns.