Key points
- NCSOFT’s October 23 AION 2 notice restricted 12,586 accounts for botting, gold farming, unauthorized programs and real-money trading, plus abnormal trading that disrupts the economy.
- Restrictions come only after review, NCSOFT says, and normal play — including long grinding sessions — is not affected. A separate small batch got temporary security locks, which are a precaution, not a penalty.
- The EU’s Consumer Protection Cooperation Network opened coordinated actions on September 30 over in-game currency pricing, covering eleven games across ten companies.
- The EU wants real-money prices shown, no forced bulk currency buys, and a 14-day withdrawal right that covers unused virtual currency.
- Eight of the eleven games are covered on MMODude. The action targets the companies’ own currency sales, not third-party sellers — and nobody has been fined yet.
This week in short
- AION 2: NCSOFT’s October 23 Steam notice restricted 12,586 accounts for gold farming and bot operations, unauthorized programs and real-money trading, with abnormal trading patterns named as economy abuse. A smaller batch got temporary security locks after logins from suspicious devices or connections; NCSOFT says a lock is not a penalty and support can lift it. Our October 12 story covered the first batch of 4,996.
- EU currency action: the Consumer Protection Cooperation Network’s September 30 coordinated actions cover Hunt: Showdown 1896, Forge of Empires, Candy Crush Saga, Minecraft, Mech Arena, Gardenscapes, VALORANT, Clash of Clans and For Honor, with a parallel action on Activision Blizzard’s Diablo Immortal and Call of Duty Mobile. The investigations follow a 2025 industry dialogue the Network says did not bring satisfactory results.
- What the EU is asking for: prices shown in real-world currency, no currency mazes that hide the true cost, no pressure to buy more currency than a player wants, clear information before purchase, a 14-day withdrawal right including for unused currency, fair terms, and safeguards for children.
The pattern
Enforcement on the publisher side has settled into a weekly drumbeat rather than a single wave: AION 2’s notices have followed since the October 5 global launch, and the October 23 batch is the latest, not the first. At the same time, regulators are moving on the other side of the market — the official stores. The EU action does not touch third-party sellers at all; it asks the companies themselves to price their own currency like a real shop. Buyers now face pressure from both directions: publishers who can take an account or its gold, and official stores being pushed toward transparent pricing that could change bundles and prices.
What we are watching
October 29: Monster Hunter Outlanders launches on iOS and Android. November 4: World of Warcraft: Forever launches. November 6: Modern Warfare 4 Season 1. November 19: GTA 6.
What it means for buyers
For AION 2, treat every restriction notice as naming buyers: real-money trading is listed in the sanctions table behind each batch, so keep orders small, never hand over your login to receive currency, and remember a bought account can be restricted after you buy it. For the EU games, watch official stores for real-money price labels and withdrawal information — and keep receipts for official currency purchases, since a 14-day withdrawal right is now part of the argument. None of this changes the rules for third-party sellers: publisher policies still ban them, and this action does not legalize them. Our release calendar has the dates above.
Sources
- AION 2 on Steam: Account Restrictions | 23 Oct (PDT) / 24 Oct (CEST)Oct 23, 2026
- Steam: AION 2 Account Restrictions noticeOct 10, 2026
- European Commission: Consumer protection authorities ramp up action to protect gamers’ rightsSep 30, 2026
- GamesIndustry.biz: CPC Network launches coordinated actions (via GameDev.net)Sep 30, 2026
- Digital Watch Observatory: EU CPC Network launches action on video-game virtual currenciesOct 2, 2026
- HappyGamer: AION 2 Bans Accounts for Botting, Gold Farming and RMTOct 24, 2026
We report from official announcements first and name the outlet when a detail comes from one report. Found an error? Tell us, and see our editorial policy.
