Gearbox Software has officially responded to the growing concerns surrounding recent changes to parent company Take-Two’s updated Terms of Service, particularly addressing community fears that many Borderlands titles may now contain "spyware." The statement was published directly on Steam, where significant backlash in the form of review-bombing has impacted nearly all major entries in the Borderlands franchise. The primary goal of this message is to maintain transparency and rebuild trust with players by tackling two of the most pressing issues dominating fan discussions—data privacy and modding restrictions.
From the outset, Gearbox makes its position crystal clear: “Take-Two does not use spyware in its games.” While data collection does occur, the developer emphasizes that player privacy remains a priority and that such practices are strictly for operational and security purposes.
“Take-Two identifies these practices in its Privacy Policy to provide transparency to players and comply with its legal obligations,” the statement reads. “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 explanation goes further, highlighting the necessity of collecting certain data: “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 interact with our games and helps personalize the user experience—like ensuring your username displays correctly! Account credentials are collected from users who choose to create accounts with Take-Two and its labels.”
Whether this clarification will be enough to quell the outrage sparked after the February update remains uncertain. However, when it comes to modding, Gearbox provides a more direct and reassuring explanation.
“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 grant access to content the user isn’t entitled to,” the statement clarifies. “We enforce this policy to preserve the integrity of the game experience for all players.”
This serves as a direct response to widespread fears that any modding activity could lead to penalties. Gearbox reassures fans that Take-Two’s main concern lies with cheating and disruptive behavior that harms multiplayer fairness or exploits protected content. The statement even notes that “generally, no action is taken against mods that are single-player only, non-commercial, and respect the intellectual property rights of its labels and third parties.”
The controversy began gaining momentum around May of this year when players discovered that Take-Two had quietly updated its terms of service across several of its titles. Rumors quickly spread that the company was harvesting sensitive user data, triggering a wave of negative reviews for Borderlands 1 through 3. Although tensions eased toward the end of May, the situation reignited when Borderlands 2 was made temporarily free on June 5, drawing renewed attention to the TOS changes.
As of now, the Recent Reviews section for most Borderlands titles on Steam remains overwhelmingly negative. Meanwhile, Gearbox continues development on Borderlands 4, set to launch this September. For those interested in staying updated, you can explore the latest reveals and gameplay details from the April 2025 State of Play presentation.
