Datamining — AKA, the process of combing through a game's files for early looks at unreleased content present in its code — has become an increasingly popular way for players to leak upcoming additions in advance of their planned release dates. One developer, though, is cracking down hard on this practice for its latest game.That developer is Halo and Destiny creator Bungie, and the game it's aggressively protecting is Marathon, its new sci-fi extraction shooter reboot of its classic '90s-era FPS that's come to Xbox, PC, and PS5. On its launch day last week, the studio took to social media to make it clear to its community that it's planning to enforce a strict no-tolerance policy for publicly sharing unannounced Marathon content."With today's launch of Marathon, we just wanted to give you all a heads-up that our goal is first and foremost to preserve the experience and surprises for all of our players," Bungie wrote. "As such, we will be issuing takedowns for any datamined content that has not yet been revealed to players."Given that developers rarely front warnings like this, this notice was something of a surprise to many. However, Bungie's proactive and strict approach to quelling datamine leaks actually makes a lot of sense when you consider its history with Destiny, and also the structure of Marathon.On top of the fact datamining has been prevalent in the Destiny community for years, Marathon has been designed in such a way that its community is able to slowly unlock secrets and future additions through gameplay achievements and discoveries. The upcoming Cryo Archive map said to feature Destiny raid-like mechanics is an example of this, and will be available once players figure out how to access it.
After contending with Destiny leaks for ages, it's honestly not surprising that Bungie is taking a firm and forward stance against datamining for Marathon. The community playing a direct role in the progression of the game's story and the addition of new content is exciting, but if dataminers spoil the surprises that await, it'd suck a ton of fun out of that experience.But what about dataminers that rip models and environments from games in order to create artwork in programs like Blender? If that's you, don't worry — Bungie says as long as what you use to make your art is content that's already been revealed, you have nothing to worry about."Datamining files that are already revealed (character models, weapons, etc.) and creating fun art as a result will not be taken down. Creators, if it's currently playable in the build, go forth and do your thing," it added.Notably, Bungie isn't the only developer that's making an effort to thwart leaking. Recently, Call of Duty publisher Activision "legally demanded" that the well-known dataminer TheGhostOfHope cease his reports, prompting him to comply and retire from leaking inside information.This warning suggests a copyright takedown is the worst you'll get if you're still brave enough to post Marathon leaks, though I suspect the studio might pursue some sort of legal action against repeat offenders. After all, Bungie has aggressively sued cheaters before.Y'know, I'm not going to tell you what to do, but ultimately? You probably shouldn't try and share Marathon leaks, if you're the kind of person with the datamining know-how to find them. It's clear Bungie will be on your tail if you do, and something tells me they'd be a bit harder to avoid than UESC patrols.
🗨️ Do you support Bungie's stance against leaks?
It's clear that with Marathon, Bungie has zero tolerance for datamining leaks that would likely spoil major upcoming additions coming to its hot new extraction shooter. Do you support the developer's stance, or do you believe it's too aggressive? I'm curious to hear what you think in the comments.
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