Blizzard has banned Twitch streamer Asmongold in World of Warcraft for a long time. The streamer knows exactly why this has happened.
Every now and then there are ban waves in World of Warcraft, during which numerous players are suspended. Most often, it affects scammers, unfriendly players who tend to insult, or those who offer game boosting for real money.
Now the biggest Twitch streamer of WoW has been caught: Asmongold has been banned in World of Warcraft.
What kind of ban is this? In his stream, Asmongold explained that he has been banned from World of Warcraft until September 13, 2022 – exactly 30 days. According to an email from Blizzard that Asmongold reads during the stream, he was suspended due to involvement in “Real Money Trading” (RMT) – that is, paying for or executing services in the game for real money.
Such RMT services are prohibited – unlike boosting for gold, which is allowed.
What does Asmongold say about it? He seems quite relaxed and is very sure that his account will be unlocked again. In the stream, he emphasizes multiple times that the accusations against him are quite absurd. He does “meme” often, but has never been involved in RMT services.
In fact, he even jokes about the whole thing:
I want to thank you, Blizzard. Thank you for that. This is amazing clickbait that I can use on YouTube. You obviously messed up and didn’t actually want to ban me, but my editors will now take advantage of this and exploit it for views on YouTube. Just like I’m doing right now.
Later, Asmongold also reads the email from Blizzard. It states:
This account has been suspended because it promoted or was actively involved in the purchase of PvP or PvE services or achievements for real money.
Asmongold grins quite broadly while reading the email, quoting that they “did not take this decision lightly” and that it was “only after reviewing the evidence” that it happened. In the stream, he sarcastically mocks this:
Can you imagine? ‘All the evidence?’ I’m sure they have, um… I’m sure they have a lot of evidence. Absolutely.
After that, he gets a little more serious and speaks clearly:
I do not engage in RMT. I know I’ve made a lot of jokes – but I do not and have never engaged in RMT. That did not happen and there is no reason why I should do that.
His argument continues that he would never have had to pay real money to expose himself to such danger – he earns so well that he could simply have bought WoW tokens to convert them into gold and then legally pay for such services with gold, if it had been necessary.
Asmongold’s biggest concern seems to be that he will lose his Gladiator mount, which he earned over many nights. Asmongold is considered one of the biggest mount collectors in World of Warcraft and his collection of mounts is something he is visibly proud of. It is always a major topic in his stream.
How likely is that? Although Asmongold continues to divide the community and many hope that his ban will remain, that seems rather unlikely. In the stream, Asmongold already showed the reactions of some experienced PvP players in World of Warcraft who were also wrongfully banned and whose bans have already been lifted.
Asmongold’s argument that he is probably the last one who would ever have to engage in “RMT” sounds plausible – as one of the biggest streamers with numerous subscribers, multiple advertising contracts, and even his own computer company, he would hardly be reliant on such deals. After all, he earns approximately $60,000 a month just from his Twitch subscriptions – plus advertising revenue and donations.
It can therefore be assumed that Asmongold will regain access to his WoW account in the coming days, unless it turns out that he has been involved in real money deals.
Update 10:00 AM: The ban has now been lifted and Asmongold has regained access to his account in World of Warcraft.
