Both Blizzard Entertainment and Grinding Gear Games have remained silent on whether they will take action against Elon Musk's accounts after the billionaire reportedly admitted to using account boosting services in their games, Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2. Screenshots of a private conversation between Musk and a YouTuber revealed his confession of paying for boosts in these action RPGs, a practice that violates the terms of service of most live service games.
Account boosting, where a player pays someone else to log into their account and elevate their rank, is explicitly prohibited by Blizzard's end user license agreement. Despite this, following Musk's admission, both developers have declined to comment on potential account bans or enforcement actions.
The gaming community has expressed frustration and disappointment over the lack of response from Blizzard and Grinding Gear Games. Players on the Path of Exile forums and Battle.net have questioned the integrity of the games' terms of service enforcement, especially in light of Musk's high-profile status. Some have criticized the developers for potentially undermining the credibility of their real money trading (RMT) enforcement policies.
Musk, who has boasted about his gaming skills on various platforms, including an interview with Joe Rogan where he claimed to be among the top 20 Diablo 4 players globally, admitted to account boosting in a direct message conversation revealed by the Diablo player NikoWrex. Musk justified his actions by stating it was necessary to compete with Asian players, who he claimed also engage in boosting.
Despite these admissions, Musk has maintained that when he streams or posts gameplay videos, it is genuinely him playing. He also clarified that he never claimed credit for the high-level achievements of his Path of Exile 2 character, acknowledging that top accounts often require multiple players to win leveling races.
In defense of Musk, musician Grimes, who shares three children with him, tweeted about witnessing his gaming achievements firsthand, including being the first American druid to clear a challenging level in Diablo and ranking highly in other games.
Further allegations surfaced when Musk's Path of Exile 2 character was active during his attendance at Donald Trump's inauguration, raising more questions about his gaming practices.