Diablo 4, Path of Exile 2 Devs Silent on Elon Musk Ban for Account Boosting

Both Blizzard Entertainment and Grinding Gear Games have remained tight-lipped on whether they will ban Elon Musk's accounts following his admission of engaging in account boosting in the action RPGs Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2. Screenshots of Musk's private conversation with a YouTuber revealed his use of this form of cheating, where a player pays another to elevate their game rank, a practice strictly prohibited under the terms of service for most live service games, including Blizzard's.

The controversy erupted after Musk, known for his high-profile positions at Tesla, SpaceX, and X/Twitter, openly admitted to account boosting. This led to a wave of criticism from the gaming community, with players questioning the integrity of the games and the enforcement of their terms of service. On Path of Exile's official forums, players expressed disappointment over Grinding Gear Games' (GGG) apparent inaction, with some feeling it undermines the credibility of real money trading (RMT) enforcement.

Similarly, on Battle.net, players debated the fairness of the rules, pointing out that if account boosting is against the rules, Musk's admission should warrant a ban. However, when approached for comment by IGN, both Blizzard and GGG declined to discuss individual player account behaviors or enforcements.

Musk, who has previously boasted about his gaming skills, including claiming a top 20 ranking in Diablo 4, admitted to account boosting as a necessity to compete with Asian players. His confession came during a conversation with the Diablo player NikoWrex, where he used a 100% emoji to confirm the practice. Musk further justified his actions by stating that top accounts in both Diablo and Path of Exile require multiple players to win leveling races.

Despite the controversy, Musk maintained that his gameplay during streams and video posts is genuine. In defense of Musk, musician Grimes, who shares three children with him, vouched for his gaming achievements, citing personal observations and other witnesses to his prowess in various games.

The situation escalated when Musk's Path of Exile 2 character was seen active in-game during his attendance at Donald Trump's inauguration, raising further questions about his involvement in the game.