The shooter Once Human is currently one of the most-played titles on Steam. However, there is clear criticism in the reviews
The open-world game Once Human was released on Steam this week and has become one of the most-played titles on the platform in just a few days. Almost 150,000 players were online at the same time, and the numbers seem to be on the rise.
The situation is a little less clear in the Steam ratings for Once Human. The multiplayer shooter currently only has aBalanced
, with a total of 62 percent of theapproximately 13,000 reviewsbeing positive. Hidden behind the negative reviews is one controversial point of criticism in particular.
Data protection concerns are on the rise
While some negative reviews also criticize gameplay elements, the most common accusation is that Once Human wants to retrieve some of the players’ sensitive personal data . Many reviews therefore warn against installing the game
The reason for this concern is usually the information in the general terms and conditions. The publisher NetEase allegedly wants to use these to obtain consent to collect a large amount of personal data. Onereviewstates that:
Data such as postal address, physical characteristics or description, protected characteristics such as ethnicity or gender, browsing history, occupation and profile pictures [collected].
Furthermore, there is criticism that the installation of Once Human also installs several programs that start automatically when the computer boots up. Some players fear that these programs are also intended to collect data undetected
Exaggerated worries?
On the other hand, the warnings about Once Human itself are clearly criticized.Other players consider the concerns to be completely exaggerated They argue that the consents demanded by Once Human are perfectly normal for online games
Many of the details in the terms and conditions would also only result from regional requirements. In some countries, for example, you have to provide ID data in order to play online games. In the meantime, the developers themselves have also commented on the discussion.On Twitterthey write:
Dear Metas,
Thank you for your attention and continued support of Once Human. We are truly grateful for all your feedback!
We would like to take this opportunity to address concerns we’ve seen regarding the game’s privacy policy and confusion about the use of the NetEase… pic.twitter.com/oVTs4lgQ6P
– Once Human (@OnceHuman_) July 10, 2024
Once Human takes the data security of its users very seriously. […] We only use your data lawfully and reasonably and in accordance with local legal requirements, while practicing data protection principles such as data minimization, purpose limitation and transparency.
