Everspace 2 Review (ペンギン)
EVERSPACE™ 2, a product of the German company ROCKFISH Games GmbH, includes two services: GameAnalytics and a telemetry service by Epic Games, Inc.
What Does This Product Do?
During game initialization, the real-time analytics service from GameAnalytics is activated and accompanies users through their gaming sessions. GameAnalytics is owned by the chinese BigData company Mobvista. In addition to this service, the product includes an active CrashHandler by Epic Games, Inc. Amazon.com, Inc. provides the infrastructure.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3241298417
Who Operates the Product?
EVERSPACE™ 2 was developed and published by the German company ROCKFISH Games GmbH.
Where Are the Service Providers Located?
ROCKFISH Games GmbH - Eduardstraße 46 – 48, 20257 Hamburg, Germany
GameAnalytics - Pilestræde 58, 2, 1112 Copenhagen K, Denmark
Epic Games, Inc. - 620 Crossroads Blvd., Cary, NC 27518, USA
Amazon.com, Inc. - 410 Terry Ave N Seattle, WA, 98109-5210 USA
What Data Is Collected?
According to their statement, no personal data is collected, only key data.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3241299014
This data includes player progress (e.g., mission completed), player actions (e.g., overload activated), weapons used, ship type, difficulty level, operating system, playtime, Unix timestamp, user ID, engine version used, session ID, event ID, etc.
How does such a dataset look like? Here are three examples from the game itself. Values with xxxx were made unrecognizable by me
Ship type
{
"category" : "design",
"client_ts" : 1714973705,
"device" : "unknown",
"engine_version" : "unreal 5.3.2",
"event_id" : "MissionComplete_M001:PlayerShip:ship_medium_sentinel",
"event_uuid" : "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"manufacturer" : "unknown",
"os_version" : "windows 10.0",
"platform" : "windows",
"sdk_version" : "unreal 5.4.2",
"session_id" : "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"session_num" : 2,
"user_id" : "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"v" : 2
},
User actions, here used Overload Skill
{
"category" : "design",
"client_ts" : 1714974133,
"device" : "unknown",
"engine_version" : "unreal 5.3.2",
"event_id" : "UserActions:UltimateUsed:static_overload",
"event_uuid" : "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"manufacturer" : "unknown",
"os_version" : "windows 10.0",
"platform" : "windows",
"sdk_version" : "unreal 5.4.2",
"session_id" : "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"session_num" : 2,
"user_id" : "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"v" : 2
}
Playtime
{
"category" : "design",
"client_ts" : 1714973705,
"device" : "unknown",
"engine_version" : "unreal 5.3.2",
"event_id" : "MissionComplete_M001:PlaytimeMinutes",
"event_uuid" : "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"manufacturer" : "unknown",
"os_version" : "windows 10.0",
"platform" : "windows",
"sdk_version" : "unreal 5.4.2",
"session_id" : "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"session_num" : 2,
"user_id" : "xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx",
"v" : 2,
"value" : 19,00000000000000
},
CrashHandler
In the event of errors, crashes, or mysterious incidents, the CrashHandler from Epic Games, Inc. is activated. It sends a summary of system data, including hardware and software information, device identifiers, and crash cause in DMP format to Epic.
The well-known DataRouter service is used for this purpose, primarily responsible for telemetry. Unlike regular Epic Online Services (EOS), the CrashHandler has a separate address, which was recently updated. See group announcement.
Privacy Policy/Terms of Use and Opt-Out/In?
Explicit mention of anonymous data collection is made, although in a very marginal way. This appears both on the Steam product page and while playing, before users reach the main menu.
However, Analytics are enabled by default, so at least one dataset will be collected unless this setting is disabled. This can be done in the main menu through the game settings, which are respected.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3241299257
Opt-Out Promises are kept (unlike the non-working placebo solutions offered by various other developers).
Can This Behavior Be Blocked?
GameAnalytics is deactivated with the Opt-Out but everything can and should be manually blocked for the whole system/network, as both Epic Games, Inc. and GameAnalytics services are included in other products and can collect extensive data. It is also recommended to delete the CrashHandler from the installation directory. This applies generally to all products with this mechanism.
Additional Info
For additional details such as a full connection overview for blocking connections and involved IPv4 addresses, company details, and a German version of the review, can be found as usual at GameIndustry. If interested, join the Penguin Domination group to ensure you don't miss any reviews on Steam.