Once Human is the centre of a storm of data privacy concerns over a policy line about collecting government ID

rockpapershotgun.com:

Free-to-play open world survival shooter Once Human has spent its first week in the wilds weathering a series of complaints about its data collection practices, much of it orbiting a line from publisher NetEase's privacy policy in which they state that personal information they receive from you may include "government-issued ID, such as passport information, as required by applicable laws for age verification and correction of personal information".

Following a backlash in the user reviews (the game was Mostly Negative on Steam at launch, but has since risen to Mixed) and on social media, the game's developers Starry Studio have published a blog insisting that they harbour no dark intentions for your personal details, or at least, that they harbour intentions no darker than any of the large number of video games that collect your personal information.

You can read NetEase's privacy policy here. The primary bone of contention is the bit directly under "Personal Information we receive from you". This includes "name and contact details", "such as first and last name, title, prefix, email address, telephone number, (instant) messaging account, postal address, date of birth, age, gender, country/region, and government-issued ID, such as passport information, as required by applicable laws for age verification and correction of personal information."

Another thing users have picked up on is that NetEase may (with consent) collect "location information... such as IP geolocation information, cell-ID, and Wi-Fi connection location", by means of third-party services and platforms, who will of course have their own data collection policies. There's a lot more in the doc. If you're uneasy about the game, I encourage you to go through it in full.

Now, here's Starry Studio's post on Steam in response to the privacy concerns. "Once Human takes our users' data privacy very seriously," it reads. "We would only use personal data if we have a legitimate legal basis, such as providing