DIGITAL LIFE

HITMAN 2 Bashed For ‘Data Harvesting’ Privacy Policy

HITMAN 2 launched last week and was well received in many ways. Steam reviews for the game have been largely positive, but several negative reviews claim that the privacy policy is immoral data harvesting. Players have reported that they are being locked out of online play unless they sign up for an IOI account, which requires you to agree to the privacy policy. IO Interactive’s privacy policy and the implementation of Denuvo Anti-Tamper for HITMAN 2 has made a lot of players unhappy.
IO Interactive’s data collection activities involve gathering personal information, payment information, IP addresses, and information about others from HITMAN 2 players. The information gathered is then used to “market, and advertise products, programs, and services” from the developers, trusted partners, and select third parties deemed interesting to the user. Accepting the privacy policy is mandatory if you wish to register an account, which is required for online play. Usually this wouldn’t matter, but when a big part of a game is locked unless you agree to share your data, something is definitely wrong.
A large number of Steam users have branded this practice “unacceptable” and are refunding HITMAN 2. Those who can look over the aggressive privacy policy back away from the game thanks to the addition of multiple DRMs. Playing the game whilst offline prevents you from completing challenges and unlocking achievements, frustrating users on low-end internet connections.
Evident from its ‘mostly positive’ review rating on Steam, HITMAN 2 is turning out to be a great game only brought down by DRMs and mandatory privacy policy. While many continue to play the game and don’t consider this important, the disappointment from others is not unwarranted. Even after all the backlash, 78% of user reviews on Steam for HITMAN 2 are positive. IO Interactive has yet to address this issue, which means fans will have to either accept the terms or play the game in offline mode.


Farhan Ali