Microsoft Inserts Malware into Minecraft… The Free Software Foundation Criticizes Problems in the Game Industry.
This article was translated from the official Free Software Foundation website. The phenomena described in the article may be time-sensitive.
Translation: Ivon Huang
The text below repeatedly mentions “addictiveness” and “addictive characteristics.” For the FSF’s definition, see here: Proprietary Addictions The following phenomena are sorted by time.
Malware in Games Malware in Games#
Nonfree (proprietary) software is often also malware, used to abuse users. Nonfree software is completely controlled by developers, and developers have more power than users. This is deeply unfair. Developers and publishers often abuse this power and harm the basic rights users deserve, usually through malicious features.
Among the various malicious features in games, the worst is addictiveness, because it not only affects users physically but also harms them psychologically.
2020-10
Microsoft openly surveils users in Minecraft. Every player must register a Microsoft account to continue playing. Since Microsoft bought Minecraft, it has merged everything under its network, enabling it to obtain player data. (News source)
Minecraft players can switch to Minetest. The core advantage of Minetest is that it is free software and respects users’ computing freedom. In addition, it has more options.
2020-10
The addictive Genshin Impact uses various loot boxes in the game to force players to spend money. (News source)
2020-10
Between 2019 and 2020, Minecraft players were forced to migrate to Microsoft servers. This is an invasion of privacy. Microsoft released a program allowing users to run their own servers, but that program is proprietary software and unfair to users. (News source)
Minecraft players can switch to Minetest. The most basic advantage of Minetest is that it is free software and respects users’ computing freedom.
2020-04
Riot’s anti-cheat software is malware. It runs at the Windows kernel level during boot. This kind of software is extremely unsafe and increases the operating system’s attack surface. (News source)
2020-03
Roblox (and other games) build anti-features that make it easy for children to abuse unauthorized third-party payments. (News source)
2019-08
Microsoft eavesdropped on Xbox players, with real people behind the scenes specifically listening. (News source)
2019-07
Rich kids found a way to spend their parents’ bank savings dry: spend it all buying packs in EA football games.
The random elements of these packs, also called “loot boxes,” make the game highly addictive. In practice, to get the predatory pleasure of beating other players, players are forced to buy more packs. (News source) In 2018, the Belgian government classified such packs as illegal. (News source)
The only sufficient reason to possess a copy of a proprietary software game is to study it for the development of free software.
2018-09
Clash of Clans can be said to be a good example: the developers released it as a free mobile game, got many players addicted, and then used psychological control techniques to turn the game into a cash cow.
2018-07
A nonfree game on the Steam client (nonfree software) contained a mining program. For example, the executable hijacked the CPU and used it to mine cryptocurrency. (News source)
2018-06
The MacOS version of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance kept a constant connection with the server. Once the publisher shut down the server, purchased copies of the game could no longer run. (News source)
2018-06
Many proprietary games contained the spyware Red Shell, which tracked user data and sent it back to third-party servers. (News source)
2018-04
The developer of the massively multiplayer game Guild Wars 2, ArenaNet, secretly installed spyware for users through an update, allowing ArenaNet to monitor all processes on players’ computers. (News source)
2017-12
Understand how free-to-play games where you cannot really get much control their users psychologically: The Fascinating Psychology Behind Free-To-Play Mobile App Games
These psychological manipulation techniques are malicious behavior. Because the games are proprietary, these methods exist. If a game were free software, people could develop and play a version without psychological manipulation.
2017-11
The driver for a certain gaming keyboard sent data back to servers in China. (News source)
2016-12
In Fruit Pop!, players use coins to buy boosters to get higher scores. They receive coins at the end of each game, and later players spend real money to buy more coins.
After getting a high score, players want to get an even higher score. But boosters do not give players more coins, nor do they help players get higher scores in later levels. To achieve this goal, players use boosters often, which means they have to spend more real money to buy them. Because using boosters is exciting and fun, players are invisibly forced to spend real money buying coins and more boosters, causing players to develop the habit of wasting money. (News source)
2016-11
nVidia’s proprietary software GeForce Experience allows players to identify themselves, then sends personal data back to nVidia servers. (News source)
2016-09
The driver in an update for Capcom’s Street Fighter V could be used as a backdoor by other programs on Windows. (News source) It was later withdrawn due to public opinion. (News source)
2016-05
Oculus Rift games now contain DRM, preventing these games from running on other platforms. (News source)
2016-04
Many popular mobile games contain “gacha” elements with random rewards, which are especially attractive to children. One type of gacha has been declared illegal in Japan, but other forms of gacha still entice players to spend large amounts of money buying virtual toys. (News source)
2016-03
EA shut down the servers, making a certain game impossible to launch ever again. (News source) These games depend excessively on the company’s servers, and because they are proprietary software, players cannot modify them to connect to other servers. If the game were free software, players could continue playing after purchasing it.
2015-12
Many video game consoles track users, such as their preferences, and send that data back to remote servers. (News source)
A game console is a kind of computer. You must not trust an operating system composed of nonfree software.
2015-09
Today’s free-to-play games collect large amounts of user data, including information about friends and companies. (News source)
Even more disgusting, they integrate the data through advertising networks composed of multiple companies’ apps and websites.
They use this information to manipulate people into buying things, targeting “whales” willing to spend large sums of money. They can also use backdoors to control game content for specific players.
Although that article discusses free-to-play games, the same strategy also applies to paid games.
2015-07
The iPhone game Game of War: Fire Age uses behavioral manipulation techniques and team simulation to make people addicted. At first the game is simple, then progress slows down and becomes harder, so players have to spend more money to keep up with the team. If they do not log in for a while, the equipment they invested in will be destroyed by “enemies,” unless they spend money to buy “shields” for defense. This game also attempts to deceive players; its complex interface and progress bars confuse players about their actual monetary investment.
2015-04
The popular online game Runescape uses addictive characteristics in behavioral manipulation techniques to make people addicted. Repetitive actions in the game, such as grinding gear, can be alleviated through paid membership. This encourages children and weak-willed players to spend money.
2014-10
Nintendo remotely sabotaged all Wii consoles. Users had to agree to a new EULA, otherwise the console would refuse to operate. (News source)
This confirms that the EULA is unjust, because injustice is the only motive for issuing a EULA.
2014-01
Angry Birds monitored players for certain companies, and even the U.S. National Security Agency was involved. (News source)
More information about surveillance apps: Analysis of What Information Angry Birds Collects
Information about surveillance by the U.S. National Security Agency: Spy Agencies Probe Angry Birds and Other Apps for Personal Data
2011-05
Playstation 3 is a tyrant. See: Boycott Sony
2010-03
Sony sabotaged the Playstation 3’s ability to run GNU/Linux by downgrading its firmware. (News source)
After the hacker Geohot cracked the code that prevented users from modifying the firmware, Sony reported it to the police, subsequently leading to calls to boycott Sony. (News source)
Sony now has to pay the price in court for sabotaging user freedom. (News source)
2005-10
Blizzard Warden is hidden “anti-cheat” software that monitors every process on the player’s computer, collects a large amount of player data, and even monitors activities unrelated to cheating. (News source)
