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

Elon Musk, the world's richest individual and owner of X/Twitter, has stirred controversy in the gaming community after reportedly admitting to cheating in the action RPGs Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2. Screenshots of a private conversation between Musk and a YouTuber revealed that he had engaged in account boosting, a practice where a player pays for another to log into their account and elevate their rank or level. This form of cheating violates the terms of service of most live service video games, including Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo 4, which explicitly prohibits such activities in its end user license agreement.

Following Musk's admission, both Blizzard Entertainment and Grinding Gear Games, the developers behind Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2 respectively, have faced scrutiny over whether they will enforce their policies by banning Musk's accounts. However, when contacted by IGN, both companies declined to comment on the matter, with Blizzard stating that they do not discuss individual player account behaviors or enforcements.

The gaming community has expressed significant disappointment and concern over the integrity of the games. On the Path of Exile forums, players have voiced their frustration, questioning the enforcement of the terms of service and the credibility of real money trading (RMT) regulations. Similar sentiments are echoed on Battle.net, where players have questioned the fairness of the rules if they are not uniformly applied, even to high-profile figures like Musk.

Musk has previously boasted about his gaming achievements, including claiming to be among the top 20 players worldwide in Diablo 4 and having reached level 97 in Path of Exile 2. He has stated that gaming serves as a form of relaxation for him amidst his demanding roles at Tesla, SpaceX, and X/Twitter, as well as his recent appointment as Donald Trump's efficiency tsar. However, doubts about his gaming prowess surfaced after a livestream where he appeared to lack a basic understanding of Path of Exile 2's mechanics.

The controversy deepened when Musk openly admitted to account boosting in a direct message conversation shared by the Diablo player NikoWrex. Musk justified his actions by claiming it was necessary to compete with players in Asia, who he believes also engage in similar practices. Despite this, Musk clarified that when he streams or posts gameplay videos, he is playing himself and does not take credit for the boosted achievements.

In defense of Musk, musician Grimes, who shares three children with him, tweeted about his gaming achievements that she personally witnessed, including being the first American druid to clear a specific challenge in Diablo and ranking in Polytopia.

The situation escalated further when Musk's Path of Exile 2 character was observed to be active during his attendance at Donald Trump's inauguration, raising additional allegations of cheating.