According to a forum post by Blizzard staff, the company has permanently banned more than one thousand accounts for its MMORPG World of Warcraft for “gold farming” — a practice seen in other MMOs including Everquest where players farm items for gold, then sell the gold for real-world money.
“Over the recent weeks we have been investigating the activities of certain individuals who have been farming gold in order to sell it in exchange for real world currency,” said the In-Game Support Manager going by the name Maleki. “After researching the situation, we have issued permanent suspensions to over one thousand accounts that have been engaging in this practice. We do not condone such actions and will take decisive action as they are against our policy and damage the game economy as a whole.”
Maleki added, “If you suspect someone of taking part in said gold farming, please eMail the report to wowgm@blizzard.com.”
Blizzard has kept true to its zero tolerance policy against hackers and gold farmers, and has recently cracked down on “teleport hacks,” where players float or place themselves inside inaccessible locations to kill bosses.
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