Fans of 2012’s action-RPG shooter Borderlands 2 can grab the game free on Steam right now but it’s also being review bombed for different reasons. Before the game was made free, it was sitting with a “Very Positive” rating on Steam with more than 287,000 reviews. However, over 4,600 recent reviews have brought that score down to “Overwhelmingly Negative” in retaliation to new controversial changes to Gearbox and Take-Two Interactive’s Terms of Service.
As reported by IGN, Borderlands 2 is being review bombed despite being free on Steam due to recent Terms of Service changes made at Gearbox Software and Take-Two Interactive, specifically the end-user license agreement (EULA) which now condemns the use of mods, cheats and VPNs. Considering that Borderlands 2 is a single-player game with no real competitive modes or multiplayer beyond co-op play, fans feel that it’s particularly harsh to ban mods and cheats when it has no impact on other players.
As if things couldn’t get any worse, players also expressed concerns that due to the terms of service changes, Gearbox, 2K Games and Take-Two Interactive were harvesting data and private information. “It’s called forced arbitration and it’s one of the scummiest things shady people want to normalise. I will not change it to a positive review until this is fixed, too bad, I had fun [with] all the Borderlands games in multiple devices, but will probably not play this or [Borderlands 4] for a long time,” wrote one user.
Many players are already requesting refund options for the 13-year old game if they wish to decline the new conditions on the Terms of Service, urging new players to read through the documents carefully before making a decision.
Take-Two’s updated terms of service can also be found on other 2K titles such as the first Borderlands and Borderlands 3, which are both on sale on Steam right now. Players have also review bombed those games to some degree, though not nearly as heavily as Borderlands 2. “Changing the ToS and turning games into spyware and then offering the game for free in order to then steal data from unknowing people is pretty bold,” wrote another Steam user.
Borderlands 4 will release on 12 September 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. No pricing has been announced yet but Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford believes ‘real fans’ won’t mind an $80 price tag.
Source: IGN
