"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 the accounts of Elon Musk 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 surfaced, revealing 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, where a player pays someone else to log into their account and elevate their rank, is explicitly prohibited under Blizzard's end user license agreement. Following Musk's admission, fans have taken to forums to express their disappointment and question the integrity of the games.

On the Path of Exile forums, one player voiced their frustration, saying, "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 added, "Are there any comments from GGG regarding this? Maybe in [Early Access] it's not a high priority, or it's garnering too much free press, but as a longtime supporter, this is a massive blow to the credibility of RMT [real money trading] enforcement."

Similar sentiments were echoed on Battle.net, with one player asking, "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 for comment, both Grinding Gear Games and Blizzard declined to discuss individual player account behaviors or enforcements.

Musk has previously boasted about his gaming skills, notably claiming to be among the top 20 players globally for Diablo 4 during an interview with Joe Rogan. He also mentioned having a hardcore level 97 character in Path of Exile 2, which has since died. Musk has described gaming as a way to "quiet my mind," adding, "Some days are real tough, so playing video games is my strange solace."

However, skepticism about Musk's gaming prowess grew as players scrutinized his performance and game knowledge. His busy schedule, managing Tesla, SpaceX, X/Twitter, and his new role as Donald Trump's efficiency tsar, led many to question how he could achieve such high levels in both games. An early January livestream of Musk playing Path of Exile 2 drew criticism for his apparent lack of understanding of the game's mechanics.

The suspicions were confirmed when a video from Diablo player NikoWrex revealed a direct message conversation on X, where Musk admitted to account boosting, claiming it was necessary to compete with Asian players. "Have you level boosted (had someone else play your accounts) and/or purchased gear/resources for PoE2 [Path of Exile 2] and Diablo 4?" NikoWrex asked. Musk responded with a 100% emoji, later adding, "It’s impossible to beat the players in Asia if you don’t, as they do!"

Musk clarified that he does not take credit for high-level achievements during streams or videos, stating, "But when I post a video of a game or am streaming, that's 100% me." He also mentioned that top accounts in both games often require multiple players to win leveling races and questioned the need to apologize for his actions.

In Musk's defense, musician Grimes, who shares three children with him, tweeted, "Just for my personal pride, I would like to state that the father of my children was the first American druid in Diablo to clear abattoir of zir and ended that season as best in the USA. He was also ranking in Polytopia, and beat Felix himself at the game. I did observe these things with my own eyes. There are other witnesses who can verify this. That is all."

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