Take Two

❗Article Status Notice: This Article is a stub

---

This article is underdeveloped, and needs additional work to meet the wiki's Content Guidelines and be in line with our Mission Statement for comprehensive coverage of consumer protection issues. Learn more ▼

Issues may include:

• This article needs to be expanded to provide meaningful information
• This article requires additional verifiable evidence to demonstrate systemic impact
• More documentation is needed to establish how this reflects broader consumer protection concerns
• The connection between individual incidents and company-wide practices needs to be better established
• The article is simply too short, and lacks sufficient content

How you can help:

• Add documented examples with verifiable sources
• Provide evidence of similar incidents affecting other consumers
• Include relevant company policies or communications that demonstrate systemic practices
• Link to credible reporting that covers these issues
• Flesh out the article with relevant information

This notice will be removed once the article is sufficiently developed. Once you believe the article is ready to have its notice removed, please visit the Moderator's noticeboard, or the Discord (join here) and post to the #appeals channel, or mention its status on the article's talk page.

Take Two

Basic information
Founded	1993
Legal Structure	Holding Company
Industry	Video games
Also known as
Official website	https://www.take2games.com/

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. is a New York City based video game holding company founded by Ryan Brant on September 30, 1993. The company owns three major publishing labels, Rockstar Games, Zynga and 2K, which operate internal game development studios.

Incidents

This is a list of all consumer protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the Take-Two Interactive category.

2K - Faulty game launcher (September 2022)

In September 2022, 2K released "quality of life" updates for the remastered versions of BioShock, BioShock 2, and BioShock Infinite on Steam, which required account linking and forced launching the games through the 2K launcher. This change rendered the games unplayable for Linux users.

2K - Personal data breaches (September 2022)

In September 2022, 2K experienced a data breach. The stolen data was put up for sale including names, email addresses, and gamertags.

Shuttered studios

This section is incomplete. This notice can be deleted once all the placeholder text has been replaced.

-Private Division shutdown - Main project Kerbal Space Program 2 made abandonware in early access, players not refunded Wikipedia page ref(note: use as springboard, find dedicated sources for history of buyouts and shuttering)

Spec Ops: The Line delisting (January 2024)

On January 29, 2024, 2K removed Spec Ops: The Line from Steam without prior notice, due to expiring partnership licenses. Players who already owned the game can still download and play it.

Microtransactions (MTX) and lootboxes

This section is incomplete. This notice can be deleted once all the placeholder text has been replaced.

Ref should cover all 3 major companies owned by T2, ref covers 2k. Zynga's pioneering of predatory mtx needs to be covered (see cityville and Farmville games.) Rockstar, shark cards in GTAO? No clue how we could shoehorn this one.

Borderlands Series - Terms of Service changes and alleged spyware (April 2025)

This section is incomplete. This notice can be deleted once all the placeholder text has been replaced.

https://medium.com/@DarkRa/why-gamers-are-furious-over-take-two-and-2ks-new-terms-of-service-051e7a6a5594 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMKMhqKzHxs&pp=ygUMdGFrZSB0d28gdG9z

Risk of Rain video game series - EULA update, which is the same as the Borderlands Series. (Risk of Rain was published by Gearbox, which all their games were affected by this EULA update.)

Grand Theft Auto also has the same EULA update from Take Two Interactive as the Borderlands Series and Risk of Rain.

Take-Two Interactive — Abuses Related to Data Collection and Game Ownership

Data Collection Practices

• Always-on tracking: Take-Two collects gameplay data continuously, even in single-player modes. This includes hardware identifiers, crash logs, user behavior, and telemetry.
• Cross-service aggregation: Data is collected across all Take-Two titles (e.g. GTA, Red Dead, NBA 2K), websites, customer support interactions, and third-party services. This enables behavioral profiling without user transparency.
• Cookies and marketing surveillance: Persistent cookies and tracking pixels are used for analytics and targeted advertising. User data may be shared with external partners, with no meaningful opt-out mechanism.
• Mandatory acceptance: Users must accept all data collection terms to access the games or services. Refusal may lead to denied access or reduced functionality.

No Ownership Over Games or Content

• License, not purchase: All Take-Two products, including physical and digital copies, are legally considered revocable licenses, not owned goods. The company retains all property rights.
• Game access can be revoked: Take-Two’s Terms of Service allow them to terminate the license at any time, for any reason. Once terminated, users lose access to the game—even if they paid full price.
• No refunds or compensation: Upon license termination or account ban, Take-Two has no obligation to offer a refund or reinstate access. Games, accounts, and virtual items can disappear permanently.
• Virtual goods not guaranteed: In-game currency, cosmetics, or stats (e.g. GTA Shark Cards, NBA VC) can be removed, altered, or rendered inaccessible at any time. Ownership claims are explicitly denied.

Sample Terms Extract

"You agree that your rights to access and use the Services are limited by this Agreement and that your license is revocable, non-exclusive, and non-transferable. Take-Two may suspend, terminate, or modify your access at its sole discretion…" ^{[citation needed]}

Summary

Take-Two uses its Terms of Service to maintain total control over user data, gameplay behavior, and access rights. Despite charging full retail prices, the company:

• Treats all products as temporary, licensed experiences.
• Reserves the right to revoke access without refund.
• Enforces extensive data collection with no opt-out.
• Allows removal of games from users’ libraries, even post-purchase.

These practices undermine consumer rights by removing ownership, eroding user privacy, and ensuring legal asymmetry in disputes.

Last Update: June 2025

Categories of Information Collected

The following describes the types of information collected by Take-Two, according to their privacy policy:

The type of information we collect depends on how you use the Services. Generally, we collect the following information:

• Identifiers / Contact Information: Name, user name, gamertag, postal and email address, phone number, unique IDs, mobile device ID, platform ID, gaming service ID, advertising ID (IDFA, Android ID) and IP address
• Protected Characteristics: Age and gender
• Commercial Information: Purchase and usage history and preferences, including gameplay information
• Billing Information: Payment information (credit / debit card information) and shipping address
• Internet / Electronic Activity: Web / app browsing and gameplay information related to the Services; information about your online interaction(s) with the Services or our advertising; and details about the games and platforms you use and other information related to installed applications
• Device and Usage Data: Device type, software and hardware details, language settings, browser type and version, operating system, and information about how users use and interact with the Services (e.g., content viewed, pages visited, clicks, scrolls)
• Profile Inferences: Inferences made from your information and web activity to help create a personalized profile so we can identify goods and services that may be of interest
• Audio / Visual Information: Account photos, images, and avatars, audio information via chat features and functionality, and gameplay recordings and video footage (such as when you participate in playtesting)
• Sensitive Information: Precise location information (if you allow the Services to collect your location), account credentials (user name and password), and contents of communications via chat features and functionality.