Red Shell tracker included with Warhammer: Vermintide 2: Difference between revisions
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The Red Shell incident occurred in 2018 when players discovered that several games—including ''Warhammer: Vermintide 2''—had silently included a third-party tracking tool called Red Shell. This software collected anonymized data (like operating system, browser type, and screen resolution) to help game developers understand how effective their ads were at bringing in players.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Dustin |date=18 Jun 2018 |title=Total War, Vermintide, and more are dumping controversial tracking program Red Shell |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/red-shell-spyware |url-status=live |access-date=24 Jun 2025 |website=pcgamesn.com}}</ref> | The Red Shell incident occurred in 2018 when players discovered that several games—including ''Warhammer: Vermintide 2''—had silently included a third-party tracking tool called Red Shell. This software collected anonymized data (like operating system, browser type, and screen resolution) to help game developers understand how effective their ads were at bringing in players.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Dustin |date=18 Jun 2018 |title=Total War, Vermintide, and more are dumping controversial tracking program Red Shell |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/red-shell-spyware |url-status=live |access-date=24 Jun 2025 |website=pcgamesn.com}}</ref> | ||
The controversy arose because players weren’t notified or given the option to opt out, which many felt was a violation of their privacy. While there was an opt-out option, allowing players to disable Red Shell's tracking through redshell.io/optout or by contacting Red Shell directly, many felt this should have been communicated more clearly.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=@BrokenClock |date=Jun 2018 |title=RedShell! Spyware?! |url=https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/redshell-spyware/24228 |access-date=24 Jun 2025 |website=forums.fatsharkgames.com}}</ref> As word spread, the backlash grew quickly across forums and social media, with accusations of spyware being leveled at games using the tool. Free players, who obtained the game during promotional giveaways or free weekends, were also exposed to Red Shell, further intensifying the backlash. Due to mounting pressure, dozens of developers—including Fatshark—publicly committed to removing Red Shell from their games. | The controversy arose because players weren’t notified or given the option to opt out, which many felt was a violation of their privacy. While there was an opt-out option, allowing players to disable Red Shell's tracking through redshell.io/optout or by contacting Red Shell directly, many felt this should have been communicated more clearly.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=@BrokenClock |date=Jun 2018 |title=RedShell! Spyware?! |url=https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/redshell-spyware/24228 |access-date=24 Jun 2025 |website=forums.fatsharkgames.com}}</ref> As word spread, the backlash grew quickly across forums and social media, with accusations of [[spyware]] being leveled at games using the tool. Free players, who obtained the game during promotional giveaways or free weekends, were also exposed to Red Shell, further intensifying the backlash. Due to mounting pressure, dozens of developers—including Fatshark—publicly committed to removing Red Shell from their games. | ||
==Fatshark's response== | ==Fatshark's response== | ||