Elon Musk's alleged cheating in Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2 has sparked controversy, with fans questioning the integrity of the games and the developers' response. Screenshots of a private conversation revealed Musk's admission to paying for account boosting, a violation of both games' terms of service.
Account boosting, where players pay others to level up their accounts, is a form of cheating widely prohibited in online games. Blizzard's EULA explicitly forbids this practice. Despite Musk's admission, both Blizzard and Grinding Gear Games (developers of Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2 respectively) have refused to comment on whether they will ban his accounts.
This silence has fueled outrage among players. Forum posts express disappointment and concern that a wealthy individual can seemingly circumvent the rules. Questions about the fairness and consistency of enforcement are prevalent. One Path of Exile player voiced concern that this undermines the game's integrity and the credibility of real money trading (RMT) enforcement. Similar sentiments are echoed on Battle.net.
Musk, known for his boasts about his gaming skills (including a claim of being a top 20 Diablo 4 player), has previously faced scrutiny regarding his gameplay. His performance and understanding of game mechanics have been questioned, given his extensive business commitments. A livestream showing him struggling with Path of Exile 2 endgame content further fueled suspicions of account boosting.
The controversy escalated when a video surfaced showing Musk admitting to NikoWrex on X (formerly Twitter) that he used account boosting to compete with Asian players. He justified this by claiming it's necessary to compete at the highest levels. He also clarified that while his streamed gameplay was genuine, his high-level character achievements were not solely his own.
Musk's ex-partner, Grimes, defended him on Twitter, claiming to have witnessed his gaming achievements. Further allegations emerged when his Path of Exile 2 character was reportedly active while Musk was in Washington D.C. for Trump's inauguration.
