Gearbox Software has issued a statement regarding the controversy over changes to parent company Take-Two’s terms of service and its fear that many Borderlands games contain “Spyware.”
Published Directly into steamIf Autcry is realized in the form of a review bombing campaign for all major Borderlands titles, the purpose of the statement is to address concerns that “may be transparent and confident with the community.” This means tackling two key story points that have taken over the Borderlands fanbase for months, including spyware horror and repression mods.
Gearbox makes it clearer from Get-Go. “Take-Two does not use spyware in games.” There are instances where data is collected, but GearBox is not afraid that players are always holding their personal information.
“Take-Two will identify these practices in its privacy policy to provide players with transparency and comply with their legal obligations,” said Steam Statement of Gearbox. “Take-Two collects this information and provides services to players, including protecting the gaming environment and the player experience. You can read more about this in our Privacy Policy.”
For example, player and device identifiers are collected in part to ensure that the game is compatible with each player’s media, platform, or website browser type. It gives players a better understanding of how to play the game, and shows the user experience (you will see your username!).
It is unclear whether Gearbox’s explanation of Take-Two’s terms of service will be sufficient to calm those who took up weapons after the agreement was changed in February. Meanwhile, the studio’s explanation of its stance on the modification scene is rather simple.
“Take-Two’s Terms of Use prohibit mods that either gain unfair advantages, negatively affect the ability of other users to enjoy the game as intended, or allow users to access content that they do not qualify,” the statement clarifies. “We do this to protect the integrity of the gaming experience for all users.”
This is a direct response to the fear that the mod community could face the impact of all kinds of mods, as Gearbox says that Take-Two’s main concern lies in scammers who can throttle the experience of other players. The statement goes as far as Gearbox’s parent company says “it’s a single player only, non-commercial and will not take action against mods that respect their labels and the intellectual property (IP) rights of third parties.”
The fuss began around May this year, when fans caught Wind, where Take-Two updated its terms of service and affected many of the existing titles. Rumors that the company had acquired user data quickly sparked a fire, resulting in a move that saw the recent review sections of Borderlands 1, Borderlands 2 and Borderlands 3 tanks become “negative” and “overwhelmingly negative” zones. Concerns in the second half of May have subsided, Fear was kicked up again when Borderlands 2 was kept free (Limited time) June 5th.
For now, recent reviews on steam from the Borderlands series remain solidly in red. Meanwhile, Gearbox is working on streaming Borderland 4 September this year. You can read and check out the latest news and a little gameplay Everything presented at the April 2025 play presentation.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor to Passthecontroller. He is best known for his work on sites such as Pitch, Fugitive, Only sp. Be sure to provide him with followers on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@mikecripe).
