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There’s an idea that gamers like video games because the rules are consistent and hard work gets rewarded on a level playing field. I recalled seeing the discussion in the grand repository of modern knowledge called Reddit (or maybe it was Tumblr, pardon the brain-rot moment). The notion will no doubt resonate with people who play Path of Exile 2 and Diablo 4. In those digital spaces, balance, fairness, and the grind are all saluted by both the community and the developers; there’s no room for those who cheat in such video games.
Both Path of Exile 2 and Diablo 4 do not offer paid gameplay boosts that can be abused by gamers who might have more money than others in real life. And for those who seek unfair third-party advantages, there are rules in place. In fact, most online games have an End-User License Agreement prohibiting players from shared account usage, especially in games with competitive leaderboards or ladders.
The developers made these rules in observance of fairness, and to preserve the integrity of the digital world they worked so hard to create. We’ve even seen the opposite results time and again; competitive video games with rampant cheat methods and cheaters sometimes collapse and repel most players.
That’s why video game developers often deal with cheaters in the most resolute manner. Turns out sociopathic behavior can ruin even virtual worlds and studios don’t tolerate them.
Well, until one rich kid came about and started bragging about his cheating to the top in both Path of Exile 2 and Diablo 4, and has somehow gone unpunished and unchallenged.
How Elon Musk Cheated & Got Away With It
Anyone who plays Path of Exile 2 or even Diablo 4 knows how hard it is to cheat or boost an account. If the devs or the game moderators so much as notice your changing IP addresses, there’s already a chance they will ban you based on suspicion alone or suspicious activity.
But Elon Musk was not just accused of cheating or boosting– he also openly admitted cheating and boosting in Path of Exile 2 and Diablo 4. Musk thus violated the terms of service for both games by paying someone to play his account (or perhaps buying another person’s account, which is also prohibited).
After the odd scandal, one would expect swift action from either GGG (Path of Exile 2) or Blizzard (Diablo 4), just as how they often swiftly ban suspected cheaters or even wrongly suspected players. But as absurd as it sounds, Elon Musk’s character in Path of Exile 2 went on to reach the top of the Hardcore leaderboards, specifically at the top 3.
Musk boasted about the new achievement recently, but the people’s justice was swift, of course. X users fact-checked Musk and reiterated that reaching the top 3 in Path of Exile 2 was not Musk’s achievement since he cheated and merely claimed the accomplishment.
Adding to the situation’s absurdity is how Musk was actually busy with Donald Trump’s inauguration when he posted his account’s achievement and had no time to play the game.
It’s as if the billionaire is rubbing it in the gaming community’s face. He can and will disrespect your online gaming space and he will go unpunished. In doing so, Musk has also been denying other serious and actual fair players the chance to reap the rewards of their hard work.
GGG and Blizzard Are Just Letting it Slide
Both gaming communities and even other news outlets have asked for answers from the Path of Exile 2 and Diablo 4 game devs. IGN has specifically reached out to both GGG and Blizzard, but both companies have refused to comment on Elon Musk’s violation of the terms.
At the moment, Elon Musk’s Hardcore character in Path of Exile 2, “Fatalismftw” still remains in the top 3 spot. Despite his admission and flaunting that he violated the terms of service, it appears Path of Exile 2 hasn’t banned Musk yet. His account, which has the handle “Random9#2886” actually has four characters currently in the Path of Exile 2 Hardcore ladder (three of which are dead and out of the race).
Apparently, the official Path of Exile 2 forum moderators are also censoring posts and complaints about Elon Musk. At the time of writing, Musk’s character and account in Path of Exile 2 remain active and rampantly cheating their way to the top of the leaderboards.
So there’s our answer, somehow the rules don’t appear to apply to billionaires, even if they openly cheat in video games– Nazi salute notwithstanding. If this is to be the new norm for our gaming sanctuaries, well, at least most of us are already familiar with that kind of status quo, aren’t we? We should feel right at home, maybe just not the kind of home where our hearts will want to be.
