Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Doesn’t Require Phone Number On Consoles

Activision has clarified the SMS requirement for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, confirming that a phone number is required for PC players but not on console. This confirmation comes not long after another Activision Blizzard game, Overwatch 2, made headlines for its own controversial SMS policy.

In a blog post, Activision said a “text-enabled mobile phone number” is required for Modern Warfare 2 on PC. This is the same requirement that has been in place for Warzone players on PC since May 2020. Anyone who previously played Warzone on PC won’t have to do anything else to get started with Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0.

Additionally, people on Steam must link a phone number to play Modern Warfare II, so this requirement is not limited to Battle.net alone.

The SMS verification requirement is in place to help with anti-cheat efforts, and Activision added the requirement for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) PC players in August 2022. “The SMS requirement for game access is used for security purposes only. Call of Duty does not use SMS verification data for marketing purposes,” Activision said.

For Overwatch 2, Blizzard originally said a phone number would be required across PC and console to help thwart cheaters. There was a backlash to the announcement, and Blizzard later rolled back the requirement in most cases.

Activision also provided an update on the efforts it’s taking to fight cheating in Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0. Activision’s Ricochet anti-cheat system will be available at launch for Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0, and it will be beefed up with “better detection capabilities, additional access to develop and deploy new mitigation techniques, and expanded freedom to update our security more frequently than ever before.”

During the Modern Warfare II beta, the Ricochet anti-cheat tools helped Activision ban 20,000 cheaters from the early test. Additionally, Activision banned 60,000 “illicit accounts” before the beta even began, denying these people entry.

“Examining the data, we found that 72% of players detected to be cheating were actioned on before they ever played a single match. For those that were able to play normally (assuming every match they played included the use of cheats), our systems were able to detect and remove them from our ecosystem–on average–within five matches played,” Activision said.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II launches on October 28, but people who preorder the game can start playing on October 20. Activision is encouraging people to play the campaign to its completion by offering up special bonuses and perks for those who complete the entire thing.

For more, check out GameSpot’s breakdown of everything we know about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II.

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