The new multiplayer survival game Once Human has seen a surge in negative reviews on Steam, largely focused on its Terms of Service (TOS). Players are uncomfortable with the amount of personal information the game collects, including names, contact details, addresses, date of birth, and even government-issued IDs.
A particular point of contention is the collection of government IDs. Developer Starry Studio, a subsidiary of Chinese publisher NetEase, assures users this information is only required for specific purposes: age verification where mandated by law, parental consent for underage players, and user-initiated age correction (again, if required by law). NetEase claims all ID information is deleted after fulfilling its purpose.
That part is really hard to believe because no other game is doing this. We don’t recommend players give up personal information like that if they don’t have to.
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The TOS has also drawn criticism for potentially collecting social media usernames and account details, although participation in these surveys appears voluntary.
NetEase has responded to the controversy, emphasizing their commitment to data privacy and adherence to principles like data minimization and transparency.
Once Human justifies its data collection practices as complying with Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations and age verification requirements within the online gaming industry. However, some players remain apprehensive, particularly due to NetEase being a Chinese company. Concerns have been raised about the Chinese government’s potential access to user data, though there is no evidence to support this claim.
We’ll have to see if anything changes, but something like this is a huge security issue.
