Gearbox Software has published a statement regarding the controversy surrounding changes to parent company Take-Two’s Terms of Service and fears that many Borderlands games now contain “spyware.”
Published directly on Steam, where outcry has materialized in the form of review-bombing campaigns for all major Borderlands titles, the statement’s aim is to address concerns while “maintaining transparency and confidence with the community.” That means tackling two key talking points that have taken over the Borderlands fanbase for months, including fears of spyware and modding crackdowns.
Gearbox makes its stance clear from the get-go: “Take-Two does not use spyware in its games.” While there are instances data will be collected, Gearbox doesn’t want players to fear that their private information is always up for grabs.
“Take-Two identifies these practices in its Privacy Policy to provide transparency to players and comply with its legal obligations,” Gearbox’s Steam statement says. “Take-Two collects this information to deliver its services to players, including to protect the game environment and player experience. You can read more about this in the Privacy Policy.”
The statement continues: “For example, player and device identifiers are collected in part to ensure the game is compatible with each player’s media, platform or website browser type. It allows us to better understand how players play games, and to personalize the user experience (like having usernames show up!). Account credentials are collected from users who choose to create accounts with Take-Two and its labels.”
It’s unclear if Gearbox’s explanation of Take-Two’s Terms of Service will be enough to calm those who took up arms after the agreement was altered back in February. Meanwhile, the studio’s explanation for its stance on the modding scene is fairly straightforward.
“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 clarifies. “We do this to protect the integrity of the game experience for all users.”
This is a direct response to fears that the modding community could face repercussions for any kind of modding activity, as Gearbox says Take-Two’s primary concern lies with cheaters who could dampen the experience for other players. The statement goes as far as to say Gearbox’s parent company “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.”
Uproar began around May of this year when fans caught wind that Take-Two had updated its terms of service, affecting many of its existing titles. Rumor that the company was preying on user data quickly caught fire, resulting in a movement that saw the Recent Reviews sections for Borderlands 1, Borderlands 2, and Borderlands 3 tank into the “Mostly Negative” and “Overwhelmingly Negative” zones. While concerns subsided for the back half of May, fears kicked up once again when Borderlands 2 was made free to keep (for a limited time) on June 5.
For now, the Borderlands series’ Recent Reviews on Steam remain firmly in the red. Meanwhile, Gearbox is working to deliver Borderlands 4 this September. You can check out the latest news as well as a bit of gameplay by reading up on everything announced at its April 2025 State of Play presentation.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
