The studios behind projects such as Vermintide 2, The Elder Scrolls Online, Total War and Hunt: Showdown have dropped tracking program Red Shell after questions were raised about the app's data collection policies.

As spotted by PCGamesN, Red Shell says that the program is designed to help game companies track marketing campaigns, with developers and publishers able to see whether someone who has clicked on an advert has played the game.

Information collected includes user OS, what browser they are using, their IP address (which is anonymised), as well as game user ID and screen resolution.

Red Shell has popped up in a number of games - with a list appearing on the Steam subreddit that includes many big titles.

The firm insists that it isn't spyware, but in an FAQ the company jokes about the programme sharing a name with a Trojan virus which certainly doesn't help matters.

As a result of consumer feedback, FatShark, Bethesda, Creative Assembly and Crytek - among others - have said they will not be using the program moving forwards.