The Gold Report: Publishers Are Going After Buyers Now

This week in short

Five stories from the last three weeks point the same way. Publishers that used to aim mostly at gold farmers and sellers are now saying, in writing, that the person paying is also on the hook.

• WoW Forever: Blizzard said on September 28 that it will remove illicit gold from the recipient and can close accounts, and repeated on October 1 that anyone generating, selling, buying or receiving it is at risk. Streamer cases have already tested the rule.
• League of Legends and VALORANT: Riot said on September 17 that Vanguard’s Anti-Boost system has penalized 296,416 accounts since late 2025, with permanent bans for bought accounts.
• Final Fantasy XIV: Square Enix’s weekly reports for September 17 to 30 list 967 accounts terminated for RMT and 741 for RMT advertising.
• Old School RuneScape: Jagex said on September 14 that using crypto or meme coins to bet on item prices is real-world trading, with a zero-tolerance approach.
• AION 2: the global launch on October 5 came with direct trades disabled, so items only move through a Market that needs a $15-a-month Membership to sell on.

The pattern

For years the practical risk of buying gold was mostly that the seller would scam you. The rules always said buyers could be punished, but enforcement leaned on the supply side. That is changing in public. Blizzard’s wording for Forever covers anyone who “knew or should have known” their gold was not legitimate. Riot’s system looks at who actually earned an account’s ranked points, which is exactly what a piloted boost changes. Jagex already moved to bans for first-time gold buyers in September 2025 and is now closing the crypto side door.

Two other shifts make the old workarounds harder. AION 2 removed direct trades entirely, and Blizzard added an in-game warning when you trade with strangers in Forever. Both make the hand-off, the moment a seller delivers, more visible.

What we are watching

November 4: WoW Forever launches, and Blizzard has said enforcement continues after launch. Launch weeks are when gold scams peak, so expect both fake listings and bans. AION 2: a global-server market is only starting to form; we will add reviewed global vendors once their listings can be checked. New World: Amazon said in October 2025 that servers stay up through 2026 with at least six months’ notice before any shutdown, which matters if you are thinking about buying an account there.

What it means for buyers

The cost of getting caught is rising faster than the chance of being scammed is falling. If you still buy, the safest choices are the ones that leave the smallest trail: self-play over piloted boosts, small orders over big ones, and sellers with a delivery guarantee. Never accept gold from strangers you did not order from, and read our gold buying safety guide before you spend anything.

Games in this story

WoW ForeverAION 2Final Fantasy XIVOld School RuneScapeLeague of LegendsValorant