Jump to content

Red Shell tracker: Difference between revisions

From Consumer Rights Wiki
← Older edit
VisualWikitext
Emanuele (talk | contribs)
confirmed, Administrators
1,016 edits
put references in place, added category
Bananabot (talk | contribs)
Bots, confirmed
1,114 edits
Added archive URLs for 1 citation(s) using CRWCitationBot
 
(13 intermediate revisions by 5 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Incomplete}}
{{IncidentCargo
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is a cooperative first-person action game set in the Warhammer Fantasy universe, developed by Fatshark and released in March 2018. Players team up to fight against waves of Skaven, Chaos, and Beastmen in intense PvE combat. The game has received several expansions and free content updates, including new factions, missions, and classes. Vermintide 2 has been offered for free during several promotional periods, including free weekends in 2018, 2019, and a "Free to Keep" event in November 2022. Despite its success, the game faced controversy in 2018 due to the inclusion of Red Shell, a tracking tool, which was later removed following player backlash.
|Company=
 
|StartDate=2018
==Background==
|EndDate=
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is a cooperative first-person action game developed by Fatshark, set in the Warhammer Fantasy universe. Released on March 8, 2018, for Microsoft Windows, the game was later made available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It serves as the sequel to Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide and builds upon its predecessor's formula, offering players intense PvE combat against hordes of Skaven, Chaos, and Beastmen.
|Status=Active
 
|ProductLine=
The game has been supported with numerous free and paid content updates, including new missions, classes, and seasonal events. Notably, in August 2019, the Winds of Magic expansion introduced the Beastmen faction, new weapons, and a challenging new mode called Weaves. In December 2021, the Warrior Priest class was added, followed by the Necromancer class in October 2023. The game continues to receive updates, with the most recent being the Verminous Dreams DLC, released in December 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gach |first=Ethan |date=8 Mar 2019 |title=Warhammer: Vermintide 2, One Year Later |url=https://kotaku.com/warhammer-vermintide-2-one-year-later-1833166200 |access-date=24 Jun 2025 |website=kotaku.com}}</ref>
|Product=
 
|ArticleType=Product
As part of its ongoing engagement with the community, Vermintide 2 has been offered for free during several promotional periods:
|Type=Advertising, Privacy, Surveillance
 
|Description=
August 30 – September 3, 2018: A free weekend on Steam and Xbox One coincided with the launch of the Shadows Over Bögenhafen DLC.
}}
 
The Red Shell Tracker is a tracker used in many popular games.
March 7 – March 11, 2019: To celebrate the game's first anniversary, a free weekend was held on Steam, accompanied by a 60% discount on the base game.
 
November 3 – November 7, 2022: In celebration of the game's seventh anniversary and the upcoming release of Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, Vermintide 2 was offered for free on Steam as part of a "Free to Keep" promotion.
 
Warhammer: Vermintide 2
 
These promotions have helped expand the game's player base and maintain a vibrant community.


==Red Shell Data Harvesting==
==Red Shell Data Harvesting==
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 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 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250708173605/https://www.pcgamesn.com/red-shell-spyware |archive-date=8 Jul 2025}}</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.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Chalk |first=Andy |date=2018-06-19 |title=Red Shell analytics software causes privacy uproar, over a dozen developers vow to drop it (Updated) |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/red-shell-analytics-software-causes-privacy-uproar-over-a-dozen-developers-vow-to-drop-it/ |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=PC Gamer |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251114073753/https://www.pcgamer.com/red-shell-analytics-software-causes-privacy-uproar-over-a-dozen-developers-vow-to-drop-it/ |archive-date=14 Nov 2025}}</ref> 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=2018-06-11 |title=RedShell! Spyware?! - Warhammer: Vermintide 2 / Gameplay Feedback |url=https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/redshell-spyware/24228 |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=Fatshark Forums |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250708173606/https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/redshell-spyware/24228 |archive-date=8 Jul 2025}}</ref> As word spread, the backlash grew quickly across forums and social media, with accusations of [[spyware]] being leveled at games using the tool.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=u/Alexspeed75 |date=2018-06-09 |title=<nowiki>[PSA]</nowiki> RED SHELL Spyware - "Holy Potatoes! We’re in Space?!" integrated and removed it after complaints : r/Steam |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/8pud8b/psa_red_shell_spyware_holy_potatoes_were_in_space/ |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=reddit |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250307171414/https://old.reddit.com/r/Steam/comments/8pud8b/psa_red_shell_spyware_holy_potatoes_were_in_space/ |archive-date=7 Mar 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=wiuuuh |title=Steam Community :: Guide :: How to block the REDSHELL spyware (new steam spyware) |url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1417938235 |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=steamcommunity.com |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260211205505/https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1417938235 |archive-date=11 Feb 2026}}</ref> Due to mounting pressure, dozens of developers—including Fatshark—publicly committed to removing Red Shell from their games.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Good |first=Owen S. |date=2018-06-20 |title=Red Shell ‘spyware’ caught in PC games and several studios take it out |url=https://www.polygon.com/2018/6/20/17485762/red-shell-spyware-pc-games-controversy-steam/ |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=Polygon |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251030154108/https://www.polygon.com/2018/6/20/17485762/red-shell-spyware-pc-games-controversy-steam/ |archive-date=30 Oct 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Valentine |first=Rebekah |date=2018-06-20 |title=Studios commit to removing Red Shell due to player complaints |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/studios-commit-to-removing-red-shell-due-to-player-complaints |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=GamesIndustry.biz |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241208142133/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/studios-commit-to-removing-red-shell-due-to-player-complaints |archive-date=8 Dec 2024}}</ref>


==Fatshark's response==
==Fatshark's response==


Fatshark, the developer of Warhammer: Vermintide 2, responded to the Red Shell controversy by acknowledging the community's concerns and announcing they would remove the software.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Calvin |first=Alex |date=19 Jun 2018 |title=Vermintide, Elder Scrolls and Total War devs ditch Red Shell |url=https://www.pcgamesinsider.biz/news/67270/vermintide-elder-scrolls-and-total-war-devs-ditch-red-shell/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 Jun 2025 |website=www.pcgamesinsider.biz}}</ref> In a statement on their official forums, they clarified that Red Shell was used only to track the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns and did not collect personal information. However, they stated that they took privacy seriously and, due to the backlash and lack of player consent, they would disable and fully remove Red Shell from the game in a future update.
Fatshark, the developer of Warhammer: Vermintide 2, responded to the Red Shell controversy by acknowledging the community's concerns and announcing they would remove the software.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Calvin |first=Alex |date=19 Jun 2018 |title=Vermintide, Elder Scrolls and Total War devs ditch Red Shell |url=https://www.pcgamesinsider.biz/news/67270/vermintide-elder-scrolls-and-total-war-devs-ditch-red-shell/ |url-status= |access-date=24 Jun 2025 |website=www.pcgamesinsider.biz |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251205223856/https://www.pcgamesinsider.biz/news/67270/vermintide-elder-scrolls-and-total-war-devs-ditch-red-shell/ |archive-date=5 Dec 2025}}</ref> In a statement on their official forums, they clarified that Red Shell was used only to track the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns and did not collect personal information. They also stated that they understood the concerns and, due to the backlash and lack of player consent, they would disable and fully remove Red Shell from the game in a future update.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Hedge |date=2018-06-15 |title=Red Shell Spyware? :: Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Helmgart Keep - General Discussions |url=https://steamcommunity.com/app/552500/discussions/0/1696049513777441702/?ctp=19#c3559414588253858897 |access-date=2025-11-09 |website=steamcommunity.com |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250506091529/https://steamcommunity.com/app/552500/discussions/0/1696049513777441702/?ctp=19 |archive-date=6 May 2025}}</ref>


==Consumer response==
==Consumer response==


The consumer response to the Red Shell incident in Warhammer: Vermintide 2 was largely negative, with many players expressing anger and frustration over the lack of transparency regarding the data tracking tool. Many felt that the inclusion of Red Shell without prior notification or consent was a violation of their privacy. Players on forums, social media, and review sites criticized Fatshark for using tracking software that they perceived as a form of spyware, even though the data collected was anonymized.<ref name=":0" />
The consumer response to the Red Shell incident in Warhammer: Vermintide 2 was largely negative, with many players expressing anger and frustration over the lack of transparency regarding the data tracking tool.<ref name=":3" /> Many felt that the inclusion of Red Shell without prior notification or consent was a violation of their privacy.<ref name=":2" /> Players on forums, social media, and review sites criticized Fatshark for using tracking software that they perceived as a form of spyware, even though the data collected was anonymized.<ref name=":0" />


Some players were particularly upset because they were unaware that the tool was running in the background, especially those who had obtained the game through free promotions or discounts. Concerns were raised about the game's integrity and trustworthiness, with accusations that it might lead to further, more invasive forms of tracking in the future.<ref name=":1" /> This backlash led to widespread criticism, and in response, Fatshark removed Red Shell from the game in late June 2018, apologizing to players for the oversight and assuring them that their privacy would be respected moving forward.
Some players were particularly upset because they were unaware that the tool was running in the background, especially those who had obtained the game through free promotions or discounts.{{Citation needed}} Concerns were raised about the game's integrity and trustworthiness, with accusations that it might lead to further, more invasive forms of tracking in the future.<ref name=":1" /> This backlash led to widespread criticism, and in response, Fatshark removed Red Shell from the game in late June 2018, apologizing to players for the oversight and assuring them that their privacy would be respected moving forward.<ref name=":4" />


==References==
==References==

Latest revision as of 12:28, 24 February 2026

The Red Shell Tracker is a tracker used in many popular games.

Red Shell Data Harvesting

[edit | edit source]

The Red Shell incident occurred in 2018 when players discovered that several games 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.[1]

The controversy arose because players weren’t notified or given the option to opt out, which many felt was a violation of their privacy.[2] 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.[3] As word spread, the backlash grew quickly across forums and social media, with accusations of spyware being leveled at games using the tool.[3][4][5] Due to mounting pressure, dozens of developers—including Fatshark—publicly committed to removing Red Shell from their games.[6][7]

Fatshark's response

[edit | edit source]

Fatshark, the developer of Warhammer: Vermintide 2, responded to the Red Shell controversy by acknowledging the community's concerns and announcing they would remove the software.[8] In a statement on their official forums, they clarified that Red Shell was used only to track the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns and did not collect personal information. They also stated that they understood the concerns and, due to the backlash and lack of player consent, they would disable and fully remove Red Shell from the game in a future update.[9]

Consumer response

[edit | edit source]

The consumer response to the Red Shell incident in Warhammer: Vermintide 2 was largely negative, with many players expressing anger and frustration over the lack of transparency regarding the data tracking tool.[4] Many felt that the inclusion of Red Shell without prior notification or consent was a violation of their privacy.[2] Players on forums, social media, and review sites criticized Fatshark for using tracking software that they perceived as a form of spyware, even though the data collected was anonymized.[1]

Some players were particularly upset because they were unaware that the tool was running in the background, especially those who had obtained the game through free promotions or discounts.[citation needed] Concerns were raised about the game's integrity and trustworthiness, with accusations that it might lead to further, more invasive forms of tracking in the future.[3] This backlash led to widespread criticism, and in response, Fatshark removed Red Shell from the game in late June 2018, apologizing to players for the oversight and assuring them that their privacy would be respected moving forward.[9]

References

[edit | edit source]
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bailey, Dustin (18 Jun 2018). "Total War, Vermintide, and more are dumping controversial tracking program Red Shell". pcgamesn.com. Archived from the original on 8 Jul 2025. Retrieved 24 Jun 2025.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chalk, Andy (2018-06-19). "Red Shell analytics software causes privacy uproar, over a dozen developers vow to drop it (Updated)". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 14 Nov 2025. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 @BrokenClock (2018-06-11). "RedShell! Spyware?! - Warhammer: Vermintide 2 / Gameplay Feedback". Fatshark Forums. Archived from the original on 8 Jul 2025. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 u/Alexspeed75 (2018-06-09). "[PSA] RED SHELL Spyware - "Holy Potatoes! We're in Space?!" integrated and removed it after complaints : r/Steam". reddit. Archived from the original on 7 Mar 2025. Retrieved 2025-11-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ↑ wiuuuh. "Steam Community :: Guide :: How to block the REDSHELL spyware (new steam spyware)". steamcommunity.com. Archived from the original on 11 Feb 2026. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  6. ↑ Good, Owen S. (2018-06-20). "Red Shell 'spyware' caught in PC games and several studios take it out". Polygon. Archived from the original on 30 Oct 2025. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  7. ↑ Valentine, Rebekah (2018-06-20). "Studios commit to removing Red Shell due to player complaints". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 8 Dec 2024. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  8. ↑ Calvin, Alex (19 Jun 2018). "Vermintide, Elder Scrolls and Total War devs ditch Red Shell". www.pcgamesinsider.biz. Archived from the original on 5 Dec 2025. Retrieved 24 Jun 2025.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Hedge (2018-06-15). "Red Shell Spyware? :: Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Helmgart Keep - General Discussions". steamcommunity.com. Archived from the original on 6 May 2025. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
Retrieved from "https://consumerrights.wiki/index.php?title=Red_Shell_tracker&oldid=39487"