Overwatch 2 Activating the Defense Matrix

Well, we cannot say we didn’t expect more things to change with Overwatch 2 going free to play, and the newest thing is related to the disruption of player experience. Back in the day, giving out your e-mail address was more than enough. However, today, not only do you have to use an e-mail to register on Battle.net, but If you want to play Overwatch 2, you will also need to provide your phone number.

Image Credits | Blizzard

Why is a phone number verification necessary?

While not everyone is a fan of the introduction of the “Defense Matrix” initiative that is aimed toward disruptive players, as well as cheaters, it is something that Overwatch 2 probably needs in order to stay a competitive game that we all love. The main reason why this is necessary is to prevent the Overwatch ranking from turning into the same aim-bot fiesta with toxic players yelling in voice chat like other free-to-play games.

In the past, when Overwatch had a box price behind it, while there were instances of cheating and toxicity, there were some stakes involved, as banned accounts would often have to purchase the game again. With Overwatch 2 going free-to-play, without the phone number requirement as verification, there would be no stakes when it comes to ruining other games.

While we understand that not everyone is made to participate in Overwatch esports, we guarantee that there are players who do not share that opinion, and if you played other competitive FPS games that are free-to-play, you know what we are referring to.

How does verifying your phone number work?

It is important to say that a phone number can be used only once, and you can only use it on a single account. With that in mind, if you happen to own multiple Battle.net accounts with the original Overwatch, you will not be able to play on all of them unless you borrow some phone numbers from friends who are not playing the game. If you thought about using pre-paid phones or VOIP, they are unfortunately ineligible for verification.

Your voice chat will be recorded

While the phone verification will be added with the launch of Overwatch 2, another feature that will be coming later in the future is where Blizzard will collect temporary voice chat recordings so they can properly suspend players who were toxic in the games. Suspended players will have a hard time returning to the game, considering they will need a new phone number, and while some may find an easy way around this lock-out, it is certainly a good initiative to stop players from disrupting the game by being toxic.

With that in mind, if you decide to check out the best Overwatch 2 settings for competitive play, you might as well disable voice chat or put it on push-to-talk if you doubt that you will be able to control yourself from yelling at other players during your ranked games.