After there was terrible trouble with The Elder Scrolls Online regarding the app “Red Shell”, other online games like Conan Exiles and Dead by Daylight are also removing the app. Critics say it is spyware. The creators of the app feel misrepresented.
Fear of data theft after Facebook scandal
Bad luck: At the beginning of the month, we reported on Mein-MMO that the ESO director Matt Firor has apologized to the players. They “accidentally” activated the app “Red Shell”. The app is actually intended for marketing purposes so that providers can better tailor their advertising offerings to the target audience. But in the currently heated atmosphere due to the Facebook data scandal, the issue was sensitive. Critics refer to the app as “spyware.”
Outcry after ESO admission: How this came to light and that ESO apologized for it drew a lot of criticism. Some accused ESO of intention. The action had catastrophic consequences for the app itself and its reputation.
Players: Nobody wants this app
Resistance is forming: As the US site Kotaku reports, players have banded together in recent weeks (via reddit) to take action against the software. They call “Red Shell” spyware and believe that many software companies have smuggled it into their games. According to them, Red Shell is a piece of software that nobody invited and nobody asked for. Red Shell snoops around on the PC and searches for data – against the user’s wishes.
To the pillory: The players have started threads on reddit and Steam and confronted the developers of various games with the accusations.
Dead by Daylight developers apologize – Conan Exiles also removes app
How game developers react: Faced with this pressure, many developers profess their innocence and good intentions. For example, Dead by Daylight states that they only wanted to use the tool to check the effectiveness of the advertising campaign. They had no intention of collecting and selling data here. Many developers also say: Actually, they wanted to disable it already, but due to an error, it is still active or at least appears to be active.
For image reasons: The developers of Total War say they will drop the software now because it is difficult to convey to players that it is not used with bad intentions.
Witch hunt: However, there are other voices. Dire Wolf Digital, who made “The Elder Scrolls: Legends,” say that Red Shell is not spyware. That is a frightening “Let’s burn the witch” word that is flying around without much information attached. Red Shell does not collect personal data. Nothing bad happens; these are just data that help developers understand how well the advertising campaigns are running.
App removed from 16 games: As Kotaku reports, the app has now been removed from 16 games, or the developers claim to be removing it from their games soon. These include games such as:
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- Conan Exiles (via Funcom Forum)
- Hunt: Showdown
- Battlerite
- Warhammer Vermintide 2
- Magic The Gathering: Arena
- and Secret World Legends (via Reddit-TSW)
The games are still going: However, according to community reports, there are still many games that rely on Red Shell (via PCGamer). These include:
- Civilization VI
- Kerbal Space Program
- Guardians of Ember
- Warhammer 40k Eternal Crusade
- SoulWorker
This is how Red Shell reacts: The creators of the app express disappointment over the development. They emphasize that they have never sold data. They are gamers themselves and want to work with developers to help them support their communities. They have only collected the minimum amount of data to fulfill this task.
