2K
Borderlands 2 ends its free period on Steam, but with controversy for requiring personal data
A controversial change to the EULA sparks fury among gamers.
Last week, 2K had a bad time. And it’s not that it had a bad announcement during Summer Game Fest, but that its olive branch after recent comments about the Borderlands 4 price wasn’t as well received as expected. After being free for a few days on Steam, Borderlands 2 received a review bombing from the community.
Is Borderlands 2 really spyware?
Borderlands 2’s recent free offering has been overshadowed by a controversial update to the End User License Agreement (EULA) of Take-Two, the parent company of 2K, publisher of the game. This change, implemented in March 2025 to unify the EULAs of all its games, allows the company to access users’ private information, such as name, username, phone number, IP address and operating system, among others. This situation generated great distrust among gamers, who see the free offer as a possible strategy to install spyware on their computers.
The new EULA also includes a clause restricting the use of unauthorized mods, under threat of sanctions, bans and even revocation of the game’s license. This measure has reminded gamers of Take-Two’s previous actions against modders, especially in the Grand Theft Auto franchise.
Although so far there is no concrete evidence that Borderlands 2 is sending private data to 2K, the controversy could negatively affect the reception of future releases in the series, such as Borderlands 4, especially among PC players.
Borderlands 2 was originally released in 2012 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC. Despite being 13 years old, it is considered one of the best titles in the franchise, reaching a not inconsiderable 89 on Metacritic. On Steam it currently has “extremely negative” reviews, something that the platform itself recognizes and that will be excluded from the review score.
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