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 about whether they will ban Elon Musk's accounts following his reported admission of cheating in their games, Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2. Screenshots of a private conversation between Musk and a YouTuber revealed that the billionaire had paid for account boosting in these action RPGs, a practice that violates the terms of service of most live service video games.

Account boosting involves a player logging into another's account to elevate their rank, a clear breach of Blizzard's end user license agreement, which explicitly prohibits such activities in exchange for payment.

The gaming community has expressed frustration and disappointment over the developers' silence. On the Path of Exile forums, players questioned the integrity of the game, with one user asking, "So now billionaires can buy their way to the top of the HC ladder as a vanity project like owning a football club. Are the TOS not being enforced even when openly broken?" Another player expressed concern over the credibility of real money trading enforcement, urging Grinding Gear Games to take action.

Similarly, on Battle.net, players debated the fairness of the rules, with one user stating, "Is boosting against the rules? If it is, then shouldn’t Elon Musk’s account get banned since he flat out admitted that he boosts his account? I assume he doesn’t get to break the rules just because…"

When approached by IGN, both Grinding Gear Games and Blizzard declined to comment on the matter, with Blizzard stating that it does not discuss individual player account behaviors or enforcements.

Musk, who has previously boasted about his gaming skills, including claiming to be in the top 20 players worldwide for Diablo 4, admitted to account boosting in a conversation with the YouTuber NikoWrex. Musk justified his actions by saying, "It’s impossible to beat the players in Asia if you don’t, as they do!" He also clarified that he does not take credit for high-level achievements in games, stating, "The top accounts in Diablo or PoE require multiple people playing the account to win a leveling race."

In defense of Musk, musician Grimes, who shares three children with him, tweeted about his gaming achievements, asserting that she had witnessed his accomplishments firsthand.

Further allegations surfaced when Musk's Path of Exile 2 character was seen active in the game while he was attending Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington, raising more questions about his involvement in cheating.