Latest news with #Borderlands2
Time of India
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Why is Borderlands 2 being review bombed?
(Image via Gearbox Software) Borderlands 2 is a beloved classic game, but now, it's facing a sudden wave of negative reviews on Steam. The players are just furious about the newly enforced legal terms of service. It has sparked a massive review bombing campaign over corporate and privacy overreach. But what exactly is this change that's creating such backlash and has turned the recent reception of the game upside down? Here is all you need to know about it. Borderlands 2 players show discontent over Take-Two Interactive EULA The player's uproar stems from the recently updated End User License Agreement (EULA) implemented across all Borderlands games, by Take-Two Interactive, the game's publisher. As per players' claims, the new terms grant Take-Two excessive access to the player's systems, including the data collection—hardware details, IP addresses, and even the browsing history. Many fans have argued that these changes completely resemble spyware, and they fear it can grant the publisher root-level access to their systems, disguised under the name of anti-cheat measures. They have raised alarms about the privacy violations. Some players even fear that this new agreement can be used to ban mods, which have been a key part of the game's longevity. It's been stated by Take-Two Interactive that the measures are for anti-cheat and security. But the fans question the decision. After all, for a 13-year-old game title that's been focused on co-op and single-player and not competitive play, what can lead to such invasive tracking action? This backlash further intensified when the viral YouTube video highlighted changes and led to the massive review-bombing campaign all across the Borderlands series. Borderlands 2 Steam reviews, which were once quite overwhelmingly positive, have now dipped down to Mixed. It's all due to the flooding of negative feedback from players. Fans mixed reactions, and developer responses to Borderlands series backlash Not all agree that the change is as drastic as they seem to be. EULA has included the broad language regarding data collection since always and Take-Two Interaction has not introduced any anti-cheat software. Borderlands players suspect that the backlash stemmed from the misinformation with the viral YouTube video that exaggerated the risk. Yet, the damage is already done, and the recent Steam reviews of Borderlands 2 seem to have plummeted to mostly negative, with some angry players labeling the game spyware and even demanding reversals. Gearbox CEO, Randy Pitchford, has addressed the player's concerns and stated that no spyware has been added to the game. He further clarified that EULA is the decision made at the publisher level, and it doesn't impact the gameplay or the software's integrity. Despite the reassurances offered, it didn't seem to have calmed the story. Many players are still skeptical about the decision and intention of Take-Two Interactive. Also, the timing of the change coincides with Borderlands 2, which is offered for free on Steam. It has amplified the outcry as the players feel the giveaway is just a tactic to push new terms onto the users on the unsuspecting side. For now, this controversy continues, and the players are demanding transparency amidst the tightened control. Whether or not Take-Two Interactive will revise the policies or if this backlash will impact Borderlands 4, an upcoming title, remains to be seen.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Steam users are review bombing the Borderlands games following Take-Two's new user agreement: "I don't feel comfortable with the terms of service"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Ahead of Borderlands 4, fans of the action RPG series from Gearbox Software are rallying online to share their thoughts on Take-Two Interactive's new terms of service. As pointed out by a player in a recent Reddit thread, the Borderlands games are currently facing a review bomb of sorts on Steam. The debacle boils down to Take-Two's recently updated user agreement, which is outlined on the holding company's website. "People are review bombing the entire Borderlands series because of EULA changes that can apparently gain root-level access to your machine under the guise of 'anti-cheat' software." The poster continues, explaining how fans are upset at the prospect of Take-Two collecting "personal info like accounts, passwords, telephone numbers, etc." One look at the Steam pages for each of the three main Borderlands entries serves as proof that players are indeed upset about the new terms of service. Under the first game's recent reviews, which have dropped to "Mixed," people share their concerns about the user agreement. People are review-bombing the Borderlands games because Gearbox/2K made EULA changes? from r/borderlands3 "I don't feel comfortable with the terms of service," writes one such fan. Another simply calls the game "spyware" following the integration of Take-Two's new terms of service. The page for Borderlands 2 also shows "Mixed" reviews, with players highlighting their worries over the user agreement and how they're afraid it affects their privacy online: "This collects usernames and passwords, IP locations and browser history data." Recent Borderlands 3 reviews don't look much better, either. One fan exclaims that "recent EULA changes seem insane," while others describe how now "mods are a bannable offense" and any "display of cheats/exploits is bannable" despite the game being largely single-player/co-op rather than an online experience where anti-cheat measures make sense. Elsewhere, people cite the legal implications of Take-Two's new user agreement. Not everyone is convinced the changes spell the end of Borderlands as fans know and love it, however. As seen on the Reddit post covering the review bombing, some think players are "overreacting" currently: "People are overreacting for sure. The EULA is hardly any different than the one before it all the way back in 2018." Just as the games' reviews are now "Mixed" on Steam, then, so are the community's opinions on the terms of service. Borderlands 3 player beats every last bit of the FPS at the highest difficulty, without getting downed a single time: "The most tense run I've done"
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
RTX 50 series no longer supports one of Nvidia's oldest GPU technologies
Nvidia has wrapped up support for the 32-bit PhysX graphics technology. The brand has quietly removed the legacy SDK out of rotation, much to the chagrin of fans who still play the games that require the functionality. Nvidia confirmed the end-of-life status of the GPU-accelerated physics simulation SDK, which was known for cloth simulation, shattering glass, moving liquids, and several other particle effects. PhysX is endearingly associated with AAA gaming titles including the Batman Arkham trilogy, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Borderlands 2, Metro: Last Light, Metro: Exodus, Metro 2033, Mirror's Edge, The Witcher 3, and certain older Assassin's Creed titles. Despite being popular during the 2000s and early 2010, PhysX began to go out of favor as Nvidia upgraded other aspects of its graphics components. Its RTX 50 series became Nvidia's new standard GPU technology. Meanwhile, PhysX floundered because it was not compatible with other GPUs, consoles, and smartphones, Tom's Hardware noted. The Verge also noted Redditors discussing their disappointment at the end of support for PhysX. One member detailed forcing PhysX to run the game Borderlands 2 with terrible results. 'Got drops to below 60 FPS by just standing and shooting a shock gun at a wall,' they said. The commentator claims to have played on a high-end system featuring an RTX 5090 and an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D. In comparison, they said they tested the same game with an RTX 4090 GPU and maintained 120fps. While it's not for everyone, playing legacy games is a common hobby. Tom's Hardware notes enthusiasts can keep PhysX support going on a PC running a RTX 50 series GPU and beyond by pairing it with an RTX 40 series or older graphics card, then tapping the latter component to work in the Nvidia control panel when necessary.
