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

Elon Musk, the world's richest man 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 his confession to paying for account boosting, a practice that violates the terms of service of most live service video games. Blizzard Entertainment, the developer behind Diablo 4, and Grinding Gear Games, the developer of Path of Exile 2, have both declined to comment on whether they will ban Musk's accounts for this breach.

Account boosting, where a player pays another to log into their account and elevate their rank, is explicitly prohibited by Blizzard's end user license agreement. This revelation has led to a wave of criticism from fans who feel that the integrity of these games is being undermined. On the official forums of Path of Exile, players expressed their disappointment and questioned the enforcement of the game's terms of service. "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?" one player asked.

Similarly, on Battle.net, players are calling for action against Musk's account. "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…" a user queried.

Despite Musk's claims of being among the top players in Diablo 4 and having a high-level character in Path of Exile 2, his gaming skills have come under scrutiny. Musk has previously boasted about his gaming achievements, including being in the top 20 players worldwide for Diablo 4 and having a hardcore level 97 character in Path of Exile 2. He has stated that gaming helps him "quiet my mind" and serves as a form of solace during tough days.

However, doubts about Musk's capabilities arose due to his demanding roles at Tesla, SpaceX, X/Twitter, and as Donald Trump's efficiency tsar. An early January livestream where Musk attempted endgame tasks in Path of Exile 2 drew criticism for his apparent lack of understanding of the game's mechanics. The recent admission of account boosting, which Musk justified as necessary to compete with players in Asia, has only fueled these doubts.

In a direct message conversation shared by the Diablo player NikoWrex, Musk confirmed his use of account boosting and purchasing gear/resources for both Path of Exile 2 and Diablo 4. He defended his actions by stating, "It’s impossible to beat the players in Asia if you don’t, as they do!" Musk also clarified that he does not take credit for high-level achievements in these games, acknowledging that top accounts often require multiple players.

Following these revelations, musician Grimes, who shares three children with Musk, defended his gaming prowess on social media, citing his achievements in Diablo and other games as witnessed by herself and others.

Further allegations surfaced when Musk's Path of Exile 2 character was seen active in the game while he was attending Trump's inauguration in Washington, adding to the controversy surrounding his gaming activities.