Latest Apex Legends ban wave hits two prominent dataminers

Datamining—the practice of dissecting game files to find traces of cut content or hints to upcoming DLC—has always been a contentious topic among developers and ordinary players alike. Respawn Entertainment, however, the developer behind Titanfall and Apex Legends, has thrown down the gauntlet by permanently banning Osvoldatore and Hypermyst, two of the best-known Apex dataminers, on Sept. 29.

The extent of their datamining was exposing details on upcoming maps and skins before their official implementation in the game—in many live-service multiplayer games like Apex, data from future updates will be packed into the current release to make implementation easier. Osvoldatore and Hypermyst scraped this data and shared it on social media, amassing tens of thousands of followers between them by giving the game’s dedicated audience a sneak peek on what was to come, but Respawn was apparently having none of it, per a recent announcement from Hypermyst.