In a recent controversy that has rocked the gaming community, both Blizzard Entertainment and Grinding Gear Games have remained tight-lipped about whether they will ban the accounts of Elon Musk, the owner of X/Twitter, after he reportedly admitted to cheating in their games. Screenshots of a private conversation between Musk and a YouTuber revealed his confession to paying for account boosting in the action RPGs Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2.
Account boosting, a practice where a player logs into another's account to elevate their rank, is considered cheating and is explicitly prohibited by the terms of service of most live service video games. Blizzard's end-user license agreement specifically bans account boosting or power-leveling for payment.
Elon Musk has reportedly admitted to cheating in Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2. Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson - Pool/Getty Images.
Following Musk's admission, fans and players have voiced their concerns over the integrity of the games. On the official Path of Exile forum, one player questioned the enforcement of the terms of service, stating, "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 expressed disappointment over Grinding Gear Games' (GGG) lack of action, suggesting it undermines the game's credibility.
Similar sentiments echoed on Battle.net, with players asking if account boosting violates the rules and if Musk's account should be banned given his open admission. Despite these concerns, both Grinding Gear Games and Blizzard have declined to comment on the issue, with Blizzard stating they do not discuss individual player account behaviors or enforcement actions.
Musk, who has previously boasted about his gaming skills, notably claimed to be in 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 cited playing video games as a way to "quiet my mind," particularly on tough days.
However, his gaming prowess has been called into question as players scrutinized his performance and game knowledge. Doubts about his ability to dedicate the time needed to achieve high levels in both games, given his roles at Tesla, SpaceX, X/Twitter, and as Donald Trump's efficiency tsar, were further fueled by an early January livestream where Musk appeared to lack understanding of Path of Exile 2's mechanics.
The controversy escalated when a video by Diablo player NikoWrex revealed Musk's direct message admitting to account boosting, citing the need to compete with players in Asia. Musk defended his actions, stating, "It's impossible to beat the players in Asia if you don't, as they do!" He clarified that while he boosts his accounts, his gameplay during streams and videos is genuine.
In response to the allegations, musician Grimes, who shares three children with Musk, defended him on Twitter, citing his achievements in Diablo and other games as witnessed by herself and others.
The situation took another turn when Musk's Path of Exile 2 character was seen active in the game while he was attending Trump's inauguration in Washington, leading to further allegations of cheating.
