Gearbox Responds to Spyware Accusations as Borderlands Faces Ongoing Review Bombing

The team at Gearbox has finally spoken up about the growing backlash from Borderlands fans, who’ve been review-bombing the games on Steam due to recent changes in Take-Two’s Terms of Service.

Players have been worried that these updates mean spyware is being added to their games, and Gearbox wants to clear the air.

The statement was posted directly on Steam and was meant to calm players down by being open and honest about what’s going on. The two biggest issues being talked about are the fear of spyware and the idea that modding is under attack.

Gearbox starts off by saying straight up: “Take-Two does not use spyware in its games.” They admit that some information is collected, but say it’s not done to spy on people. Instead, it’s part of how Take-Two delivers its services and keeps games running properly.

“Take-Two identifies these practices in its Privacy Policy to provide transparency to players and comply with its legal obligations,” the statement explains. They add that “Take-Two collects this information to deliver its services to players, including to protect the game environment and player experience.”

Gearbox gives some examples, like how things like device information or account names are gathered to make sure games work with different systems or to help customize the experience. They also say that people who create Take-Two accounts provide their own info by choice.

Even with this explanation, it’s hard to say if fans will be satisfied. Many players were upset when the Terms of Service were quietly updated back in February, which led to rumors spreading in May that user data was being secretly collected.

The situation got worse when Borderlands 2 was given away for free on June 5, which brought a lot more attention back to the issue. That’s when the Steam review sections for Borderlands 1, 2, and 3 took a serious hit, with thousands of negative reviews dropping the scores to “Mostly Negative” or worse.

Another big concern is what this means for mods. Fans who enjoy changing the games or adding custom content were worried Take-Two would start banning modders completely. Gearbox says that’s not the plan.

“Take-Two’s Terms of Service prohibit mods that allow users to gain an unfair advantage, negatively impact the ability of other users to enjoy the game as intended, or allow users to gain access to content that the user is not entitled to,” the statement says.

Basically, the focus is on stopping cheaters. Gearbox adds that “Take-Two generally does not seek to take action against mods that are single-player only, non-commercial, and respect the intellectual property (IP) rights of its labels and third parties.” So, if you’re just playing around with mods in single-player and not trying to make money off of them, you’re probably fine.

Right now, the Borderlands games are still getting flooded with negative reviews, and many fans aren’t convinced by Gearbox’s response. But the studio is moving forward anyway, with Borderlands 4 still on track for release in September. The game was shown off at the State of Play presentation back in April, and more updates are expected soon.

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