Diablo 4, Path of Exile 2 Devs Mum on Musk Boost Ban

Neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Grinding Gear Games has addressed whether they intend to ban accounts linked to Elon Musk after the X/Twitter owner reportedly confessed to cheating, prompting some fans to accuse the developers of compromising their games' integrity.

Leaked screenshots of a private exchange between Musk, the world's richest person, and a YouTuber revealed his acknowledgment of paying for account boosting in the action RPGs Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2.

Account boosting is a type of cheating where someone logs into another player's account to elevate their rank or progress, violating the terms of service for nearly every live-service video game. Blizzard’s end-user license agreement explicitly prohibits paying for account boosting or power-leveling.

In response to Musk's admission this week, both Blizzard Entertainment, developer of Diablo 4, and Grinding Gear Games, developer of Path of Exile 2, have faced inquiries about whether they will take action and ban his accounts for cheating.

“Now billionaires can buy their way to the top of the HC ladder as a vanity project, like owning a football club. Are the terms of service not enforced even when openly violated?” one Path of Exile player posted on the game’s official forum.

“Has GGG commented on this? Maybe it's not a priority during Early Access, or the free publicity is too good to pass up, but as a longtime supporter, this seriously undermines confidence in RMT enforcement.

“This isn't a troll post—I'm genuinely disappointed that GGG isn't taking action.

“Does anyone else feel this compromises the game's integrity?”

A similar tone is visible on Battle.net. “Is boosting against the rules?” one player asked. “If so, shouldn’t Elon Musk’s account be banned after he openly admitted to boosting? I doubt he gets a free pass just because…”

When IGN reached out, Grinding Gear Games declined to comment. Blizzard also declined, stating it does not discuss individual player accounts or enforcement measures.

Musk has frequently boasted about his gaming skills, including in an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan where he claimed to be among the top 20 Diablo 4 players worldwide. More recently, he reached level 97 in Path of Exile 2's hardcore mode, though that character has since died. He has said he plays video games “to quiet my mind,” adding, “Some days are really tough, so gaming is my strange comfort.”

Still, doubts grew about Musk's self-proclaimed gaming abilities as players scrutinized his in-game performance and knowledge. Some questioned whether he could reasonably invest the hundreds of hours needed for elite rankings in Diablo 4 and Path of Exile 2 while running Tesla, SpaceX, X/Twitter, and acting as Donald Trump's efficiency tsar. An early January livestream in which Musk tackled endgame Path of Exile 2 content drew criticism from viewers who said he lacked a basic grasp of game mechanics.

Many suspected Musk might be paying others to boost his Path of Exile 2 character, and evidence soon followed. In a video posted Sunday, Diablo player NikoWrex shared a private X message exchange where Musk admitted to account boosting, claiming it was the only way to compete with Asian players.

“Have you level boosted (had someone else play your accounts) and/or purchased gear/resources for PoE2 and Diablo 4?” NikoWrex asked. Musk replied with a 100% emoji. He later added, “It’s impossible to beat players in Asia otherwise—they do it too!”

“But when I post a game video or stream, that's 100% me,” he clarified. Asked if he took credit for his high-level hardcore Path of Exile 2 character, Musk said, “No. Never claimed that. Top-ranked Diablo or PoE accounts often use multiple players to win leveling races.” He then questioned whether an apology was warranted.

Following the reveal, musician Grimes, who shares three children with Musk, defended him on Twitter: “For the record, the father of my children was the first American druid in Diablo to clear Abattoir of Zir and finished that season as the top U.S. player. He also ranked highly in Polytopia and beat Felix himself. I saw this myself, and other witnesses can confirm. That’s all.”

On Monday, new cheating allegations emerged when Musk’s Path of Exile 2 character appeared active in-game while he attended Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington.