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

More than 20,000 bans were issued during the game’s open beta

A new blog post detailingCall 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 forOverwatch 2’s Defense Matrix at that game’s launch at the beginning of this month, beforeremoving themfor most players last week. Modern Warfare 2 players on both Battle.net and Steam will need to register a number.

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.

Ireportedat 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 Grahamnoted, at least we get 4K and support for ultrawide monitors, right?

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 ziplines ontoSteamandBattle.neton October 28th for £60/$70/€70. You can read the full Ricochet progress report blog posthere.

Activision Blizzard publish Call Of Duty and they’re still facinglaw suitsalleging a workplace culture of sexual harassment and discrimination. Microsoft alsointend to buyActivision Blizzard, although the deal iscurrently under investigationby UK regulators over competition concerns.