Blizzard Announces A Crackdown On Real Money Trading for Gold in WoW
Blizzard commits to curbing inflation in the WoW economy.
Blizzard is putting World of Warcraft: Forever players on notice. Buying gold with real money will carry much harsher consequences than WoW players have seen in the past.
During a recent Q&A, senior game designer Josh Greenfield said Blizzard intends to “very aggressively punish gold buyers” in WoW: Forever. He admitted the studio has historically been too lenient when dealing with players who purchase gold through unauthorized real-money trading services(RMTs). Players had previously complained about Blizzard’s penalties for these practices being too light, and they’ve apparently taken this feedback to heart.
“Being frank, we’ve been probably too lenient on gold buyers and it’s been a little bit easy to get around some of our actions before,” Greenfield said. He also warned players that buying gold is not worth potentially losing a long-standing World of Warcraft account.
Greenfield stopped short of formally announcing an automatic permanent-ban policy for gold buyers. However, his reference to players potentially losing their accounts “permanently” suggests Blizzard is prepared to implement permanent account closures rather than relying solely on temporary suspensions as has been the case historically.
The tougher stance fits with Blizzard’s broader plans for WoW: Forever. The developer has said it currently has no plans to introduce WoW Tokens or paid level boosts, arguing that progression and the journey through the game are fundamental parts of the Forever experience.
That leaves third-party RMT as the obvious shortcut for players wanting large amounts of gold, something Blizzard has spent years trying to combat. Blizzard has previously identified gold-bid or GDKP raids as one factor driving demand for purchased gold, botting, and an escalating arms race between players. Blizzard consequently banned GDKP runs in Season of Discovery in 2024, with penalties extending as far as permanent account closure.
World of Warcraft: Forever seems like it’s intent on taking that philosophy further. With its economy intended to resemble the slower, more socially driven Classic experience, Blizzard clearly does not want purchased gold distorting that economy from day one.
