Red Shell tracker included with Warhammer: Vermintide 2: Difference between revisions
Created a page for Warhammer: Vermintide 2 addressing it's data harvesting practice and lack of transparency for the customer. |
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Revision as of 19:12, 9 May 2025
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.
Background
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.
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.
As part of its ongoing engagement with the community, Vermintide 2 has been offered for free during several promotional periods:
August 30 – September 3, 2018: A free weekend on Steam and Xbox One coincided with the launch of the Shadows Over Bögenhafen DLC.
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
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.
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. 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, 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. 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.
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.
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. 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.
References
https://www.pcgamesn.com/red-shell-spyware
https://forums.fatsharkgames.com/t/redshell-spyware/24228
https://kotaku.com/warhammer-vermintide-2-one-year-later-1833166200