Overwatch 2 off to rocky start due to DDoS attacks, long waiting queues and more
Apparently, if you're new to Overwatch, you can't play the game if you have a pre-paid mobile number.
Overwatch 2 launched a day after Blizzard shut down Overwatch with the idea in mind to migrate the players onto the new game. That didn’t quite exactly work out the way Blizzard intended since players have been waiting in insanely long queues, having problems logging in and merging their accounts. Then, there’s a majority of players who are currently not eligible to even play Overwatch 2 if they have a pre-paid mobile plan.
SMS Protect
Blizzard faced extreme criticism online for making it a requirement that players submit a mobile number that is on a post-paid plan. If you’re on a pre-paid mobile, you won’t be able to play Overwatch 2. This decision was taken to prevent and take action against cheaters in the game but it has clearly backfired on the company.
Seeing the backlash, Blizzard publicly apologized and made changes to that requirement. Existing Overwatch players with a connected Battle.net account who’ve played since June 9, 2021, will not be required to submit a post-paid mobile number. As for those who are new to Overwatch, there’s sadly no exception for them at this point.
Overwatch 2 long queues
Unfortunately, SMS Protect is just part of the issues. There’s also the problem with queues as players have to be in long queues before they can even get into the game. Blizzard released an entire blog addressing these issues and they’ve mentioned that the long queues would persist for now as they slowly fix that issue.
Some players are also facing problems merging their accounts. Blizzard says that half of these problems exist because players did not go through with account merger process. This is supposed to help them get their items and progression from Overwatch to Overwatch 2. To be fair to some players on the console, there was a bug which prevented the pop up of merging accounts, from well, popping up. They’ve now introduced a new UI that is prompting players to merge their accounts.
As for players who did complete the merger, they are still not seeing all of their items, and in some cases, no items in their game's inventory. Blizzard has assured players that no progress or items have been lost, this is simply a migration process that’s taking too long as of this moment. The company will be looking to fix this and update players about it soon, as per the blog.
Overwatch 2 DDoS attack
Teams are working hard on server issues with Overwatch 2. We are humbled by the excitement of players and will continue to focus on issues and get players into the fun! Thanks for your patience. ❤️
— Mike Ybarra (@Qwik) October 4, 2022
Blizzard’s Overwatch 2 had a rocky launch indeed. The servers were down at launch due to a mass DDoS attack. Overwatch 2 faced two DDoS attacks that caused the servers to be shut down. Blizzard is working on this issue but their blog about connectivity issues did not address this concern.
We’re steadily making progress on server issues and stability, as well as working through a second DDoS attack. We’re all hands on deck and will continue to work throughout the night. Thank you for your patience - we’ll share more info as it becomes available.
— Aaron Keller (@aaronkellerOW) October 5, 2022
