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The 2025 Borderlands review backlash centered on a real policy change: Gearbox products and services moved to Take-Two’s unified Terms of Service, and players had to accept the updated terms to keep using affected services. Players raised concerns about privacy, mods, arbitration and access to older games. Those concerns document a genuine dispute, but they do not establish that every Borderlands game collects every data category mentioned in a policy, uses spyware, or received kernel-level anti-cheat.
What changed in Gearbox’s terms
2K’s FAQ described the change as a move from Gearbox’s existing Terms of Service and End User License Agreement to Take-Two’s single Terms of Service for Gearbox products and services. It also acknowledged that some provisions changed: the agreement clarified rules for user content and conduct, and updated its binding arbitration agreement for players resident outside the UK, European Economic Area, Switzerland and Australia. The FAQ does not provide a clause-by-clause comparison of the old and new documents, so it supports describing a consolidation and certain stated updates—not a claim that every term changed or that all users received identical arbitration terms.
![Borderlands 3 Ultimate Edition (PS5) [video game]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/510vIObt2KL._SL160_.jpg)
According to the 2K FAQ, the updated terms were published on February 28, 2025, and took effect on March 28, 2025. The FAQ said users needed to accept them to continue using 2K and Gearbox products and services; declining could mean losing access to some or all of them. Players who had not logged into a particular game since the change were to be prompted to review and accept the terms before playing it.
2K also said existing progress, rewards, friends, codes and keys would remain accessible after the update. That reassurance addressed players’ concern that accepting a new agreement might erase what they had earned or stored, while leaving the acceptance requirement in place.
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- Two critically acclaimed Borderlands games in one package - experience Handsome Jack's rise to power in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and his reign as maniacal Hyperion CEO in Borderlands 2.
- Over $100 in value and hundreds of hours of gameplay: includes all campaign add-ons, playable character packs, level cap upgrades, and assorted combat arenas previously released as downloadable content for both titles, plus dozens of additional chara
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- Pick up right where you left off! Transfer your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or PS Vita save files onto next-gen with cross-save.
- Explore the mayhem filled world of Pandora and its moon in amazing high definition with smooth high performance frame rates never before seen in Borderlands on consoles. With over 55 editorial awards, enjoy the most critically acclaimed franchise to
Why players objected
Steam reviews captured objections in players’ own terms, including “I don’t feel comfortable with the terms of service.” Some questioned applying new conditions to older games, especially a “non live service game”; others focused on data categories, mods, arbitration and whether refusing the terms would block access. These reviews show what players feared, not whether each legal or technical interpretation was correct.
PC Gamer’s May 20, 2025 report linked a brief surge in negative reviews to videos comparing the agreements and the discussion that followed. It said most reviews mentioning the change clustered around that coverage and that the wave had fallen off by the time of its report. That is a dated account of activity in May 2025, not evidence of Borderlands’ Steam ratings today.
Rank #2
![Borderlands Collection: Pandora's Box Standard - PC [Online Game Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51Sg3bMiKOL._SL160_.jpg)
- MAKE COMPLETE MAYHEM: Venture across the desert planet of Pandora and the brutal worlds beyond, playing as badass Vault Hunters in search of legendary loot. Every Borderlands game is packed with larger-than-life characters, treacherous worlds, and unforgettable stories.
- GO SOLO OR TEAM UP: Borderlands' intense looter-shooter action gets amped all the way up when you're in a co-op party of up to four players online! Grab your friends and share the joys of firing bazillions of guns, crafting perfect builds, and conquering fearsome bosses!
- EXPERIENCE THE SAGA SO FAR: Whether you're new to the Borderlands or reuniting with old friends, you'll love making Mayhem with the series' eccentric cast. From Lilith's heroic ascension to Handsome Jack's infamous rise and fall, you’ll meet an unforgettable group of bandits, rebels, heroes—and Claptrap, who is also there.
What 2K said about data and privacy
The FAQ said data supplied or collected through Gearbox games, services and SHiFT accounts would be managed by 2K. It said Gearbox’s handling of personal data remained the same at that time and that 2K would provide notice if processing changed meaningfully. It also noted that data practices and the information collected can vary depending on how a person interacts with the services.
That language should not be read as proof that every game actively collects every category that might appear in a privacy policy. PC Gamer likewise cautioned against treating policy categories as evidence of collection in every game. The available reporting does not establish that Borderlands games harvest passwords or browser histories from every player.
Rank #3
- TWO CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED BORDERLANDS GAMES IN ONE PACKAGE - experience Handsome Jack's rise to power in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and his reign as maniacal Hyperion CEO in Borderlands 2.
- OVER USD100 IN VALUE AND HUNDREDS OF HOURS OF GAMEPLAY: includes all campaign add-ons*, playable character packs, level cap upgrades, and assorted combat arenas previously released as downloadable content for both titles, plus dozens of additional character customizations.
- BORDERLANDS: THE HANDSOME COLLECTION SUPPORTS FOUR DIFFERENT PLAYERS ON A SINGLE SPLIT SCREEN - next generation power fully utilized!
- PICK UP RIGHT WHERE YOU LEFT OFF! Transfer your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or PS Vita save files onto next-gen with cross-save**.
- EXPLORE THE MAYHEM-FILLED WORLD OF PANDORA AND ITS MOON in amazing high definition with smooth high performance frame rates never before seen in Borderlands on consoles.
What Gearbox said about spyware and mods
In a Steam response reported by GamesRadar on June 7, 2025, Gearbox said: “Take-Two does not use spyware.” That is the company’s statement, not the result of an independent technical audit. PC Gamer reported in May 2025 that it had found no evidence Take-Two introduced kernel-level anti-cheat into the Borderlands titles; the review backlash itself does not prove that such software was installed.
GamesRadar also reported Gearbox’s position that the company sought to prevent mods that grant an unfair advantage, while not seeking action against mods that are single-player only, non-commercial and respectful of its labels’ intellectual-property rights. This is narrower than a categorical ban on mods, but it remains a company description of its intent—not a guarantee about every mod or a complete record of enforcement.
Rank #4
What the review figures do—and do not—show
GamesRadar reported that, as of its June 7, 2025 article, recent reviews were 29% positive for Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands and 9% positive for Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. Those are historical figures from that report, not current scores or proof that the agreement alone caused every negative review.
Steam’s displayed score also depends on which reviews are included. In a 2025 scholarly article, Andrew Wirzburger described a Borderlands 2 snapshot from April 6: under one setting, recent reviews were “Very Positive,” with 90% of 1,106 reviews positive; including off-topic reviews changed the aggregate to “Mixed,” with 49% of 5,230 reviews positive. The date, review pool and setting matter: a storefront rating is not a timeless or context-free measure of player sentiment.
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- Two critically acclaimed Borderlands games in one package – experience Handsome Jack’s rise to power in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel and his reign as maniacal Hyperion CEO in Borderlands 2.
- Over $100 in value and hundreds of hours of gameplay: includes all campaign add-ons, playable character packs, level cap upgrades, and assorted combat arenas previously released as downloadable content for both titles, plus dozens of additional character customizations.
- Borderlands: The Handsome Collection supports four different players on a SINGLE split screen – next generation power fully utilized!
- Pick up right where you left off! Transfer your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, or PS Vita save files onto next-gen with cross-save.
- Explore the mayhem filled world of Pandora and its moon in amazing high definition with smooth high performance frame rates never before seen in Borderlands on consoles.
The episode is best understood as a 2025 protest over a real terms migration, with disagreement about what the language meant and what the games did in practice. The reports cited here do not establish the current Steam review status, nor do they provide an independent audit of Borderlands software behavior.
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