Gold buyers get banned too: Blizzard closed about 3,700 beta accounts

Blizzard is now going after gold buyers, not just sellers. Over 2,100 buyer accounts and almost 1,600 seller and bot accounts were closed during the beta.

Buying or selling gold in Forever is going to be expensive. In a statement at the end of September, Blizzard said it was taking a harder line on real-money trading (RMT). From now on it's not just sellers: accounts that buy gold will be actioned too, which can mean the gold being removed or the account being closed.

The numbers back it up. During the beta, more than 2,100 gold-buying accounts and almost 1,600 gold-selling or botting accounts were closed. A follow-up on October 1 announced a new in-game warning: when you trade with a stranger, the game reminds you that accepting gold from a suspicious source can put your account at risk.

It matters for the race, too. Nobody wants a raid race decided by bought gear, so Blizzard sticking to this is good news for clean competition.

Sources: Icy Veins, "Nearly 4,000 Accounts Banned Due to RMT – WoW Forever Beta" — https://www.icy-veins.com/wow-forever/news/nearly-4000-accounts-banned-due-to-rmt-wow-forever-beta/ · Warcraft Tavern, "Blizzard is Taking Further Action Against Botting & RMT in WoW Forever" — https://www.warcrafttavern.com/forever/news/blizzard-is-taking-further-action-against-botting-rmt-in-wow-forever/ · TechRadar — https://techradar.com/gaming/blizzard-issues-stark-warning-to-wow-forever-gold-buyers-engaging-in-rmt-is-not-worth-putting-your-account-at-risk