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Ever wondered how people find out gaming secrets and updates before they're announced?

Well it could be down to something called data mining.

Data mining is a way for people to dig through lots of information from game developers and find out what could be in new updates.

Data miners have revealed all sorts of interesting updates in the past, like the black hole in Fortnite, new character additions like Lief in Animal Crossing, as well as Pokémon that never made the cut.

But how do they do it and is it a reliable way to get gaming info?

What is data mining?

Game data mining is the process of reading data files released by game developers, to try to find new updates or features coming to a game.

It can be a pretty complicated process, as the data is written in code, meaning only some people can understand it.

As well as this it can take a very long time to go through all of the information.

Some data miners say what they do is a bit like archaeology - but in the virtual world!

They have to dig through a lot of rubble before they find the treasure - or in this case gaming updates!

How does it work?

Before a game is updated, developers have to upload data files to test that the new updates will work properly before they are officially released.

Data mining works when people download these data files from beta (test) or finished versions of games.

From reading these files - which are written in code by game developers - they can pick out key words or phrases which could reveal a new item, or feature in the game.

However there is a bit of detective work involved in figuring out what these key words could mean for the game.

Is data mining reliable?

Well - yes and no.

As the data come from the game developers it can be seen as a good source of information.

However, just because data miners find certain keywords or phrases in the files, it doesn't always mean that these things will be in the next update.

One of the reasons for this is because these data files can be for test versions of games, meaning that developers might make changes to them before they're released.

What do people think about data mining?

Data mining can be controversial.

Some gaming companies get annoyed with data miners revealing their secrets before they do.

As a result of this some game developers try to hide their updates, by using secret codenames for things, so they aren't as obvious.

However, data mining can be positive for developers, as it can help to generate excitement about new features potentially coming to the game.

Similar to movies or TV shows, some gamers enjoy hearing about potential new updates/spoilers, whereas others prefer to avoid them.

What do you think about data mining? Is it a good way to get new updates, or do you think people should wait for the official releases? Let us know below!