Borderlands 2 Accused of Spying on Your Computer, Now Has ‘Extremely Negative’ Reviews
Take-Two and Gearbox Software are giving away Borderlands 2 on Steam for a limited time, a game that many consider the best in the series. Despite having “very positive” user reviews overall, the latest reviews have turned “overwhelmingly negative.” What’s causing this?
While the game itself hasn’t changed since its original release, recent negative reviews have appeared due to a controversy or confusion related to the game’s alleged use of spyware.
Is Borderlands 2 Spying on You?
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The problem started when Take-Two updated its end-user license agreement (EULA). A well-known YouTuber posted a video titled “Take-Two Spies on Borderlands Players,” pointing out changes in the publisher’s policy. In particular, the video criticized how Take-Two collects player data, such as name, username, phone number, IP address, operating system, and that the new policy might be used to ban players who use mods.
The video, along with others, caused many people to change their reviews overnight.
But is this true? A moderator on the official Borderlands Reddit responded by saying there is no malware or spyware in Borderlands 2 and that it is unlikely to appear in the future.
They explained, “There is currently no malware/spyware in any of your existing Borderlands games, and there is unlikely to be in the future. Think about it: either they shipped malware/spyware years ago, and they’re just now telling you about it, or, there’s nothing there now. They have not shipped any new code in over a year. If you’re worried that there’s suddenly malware/spyware in the existing games, where did it come from? Unless it manifested out of nothingness by magic, it’s not there. So your existing games should be fine.”
The moderator also clarified that the changes in the EULA were due to changes related to Take-Two, the publisher.
The moderator added, “People seem to have misinterpreted (intentionally or otherwise) parts of the EULA in order to get everyone riled up, to get clicks. If you’re really angry because someone told you to be really angry, you may have been manipulated.”
You can add Borderlands 2 to your Steam account for free until June 8.
