Blizzard will now take the gold back: WoW Forever buyers face account closures too

A week ago we covered senior game designer Josh Greenfield promising to punish gold buyers very aggressively. Blizzard has now put the policy in writing on the forums, and it is more specific than the interview was.

What the post says

On a gold buying thread with over 8,500 views, Blizzard set out three points:

• RMT is not acceptable in World of Warcraft, and steps are being taken in the Forever beta, at launch and beyond.
• Seller accounts have always been actioned quickly. The change is that Blizzard will increasingly take action against buyers.
• For a buyer, that means the illicit gold is removed from the account, and further action can include closing accounts.

The part that catches honest players

The last paragraph is the one worth reading twice:

We’re once again asking all players to be very cautious when it comes to accepting gifts from strangers or other one-sided transactions.

If it becomes clear that a recipient knew or should have known the gold was not from a legitimate source, they can be actioned too.

That covers a real situation in a fresh economy: a stranger hands a low-level character hundreds of gold for nothing. In Classic that was often a gold seller moving funds between accounts, and Forever’s launch will be no different.

Why the pressure is on now

The policy post did not appear in a vacuum. The same Blizzard reply went out on a thread about a $50,000 duel tournament on the EU forums, where players were asking how prize money and in-game wealth interact with the rules.

There is also the economic backdrop. Forever’s level cap never rises, professions are meant to stay relevant for years, and Blizzard has said it holds tuning levers over supply and demand. An inflated gold supply undermines all of that, which is why buyers, not just sellers, are now in scope.

Practical advice

• Refuse unexplained gold. A stranger’s gift is not worth an account review.
• Keep trades two-sided and roughly fair in value, so a log shows an exchange rather than a transfer.
• Earn it instead. Our gold guide covers the farms and crafting routes that work in the beta, and the Merchant’s Favor guide covers the crate turn-ins.

Blizzard closed with the line that matters for launch week: this applies in the beta, at launch, and beyond.