Borderlands games are being review bombed due to EULA, privacy concerns

The Borderlands franchise has been the latest subject of community backlash, with negative reviews bombarding the games' Steam listings due to recent changes to the End User License Agreement (EULA).

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As widely publicised on Reddit, the review-bombing campaign began in response to the updated EULA, which reportedly grants Take-Two "root level access to users' systems, under the guise of anti-cheat software". As a result, users are concerned that sensitive information like passwords, IP addresses, and login details are being unfairly collected.

In addition to privacy concerns, the new agreement also raised fears in the game's modding community, with many users citing that targeting third-party applications could introduce unnecessary limitations to legitimate gameplay modifications.

While the uproar has noticeably impacted the game's review scores, the sentiment on whether the reaction is justified remains mixed. Some users argue that the new EULA borders on "spyware," while others highlight that it is not substantially different from the previous versions and that the updates largely align with industry standards.

Regardless, reviews for the games, which previously held a "very positive" rating on Steam, now vary between "mixed" and "mostly negative".

It's also not the first time Take-Two has faced a similar review bombing campaign. In mid-2017, Grand Theft Auto V faced significant online backlash due to Take-Two's legal takedown of modding tool OpenIV, which sank reviews down to a "mixed" overall rating on Steam. Similarly, the move was seen as an overreach in the game's EULA and terms of service.

Take-Two Interactive has yet to issue a public statement in response to the backlash.