For almost 20 years, Manfred has plundered gold and items in games through hacks.
With MMORPGs and other online games, a lot of money can be made. So far, so known. This applies not only to the developers but also to clever hackers. GameStar and Motherboard report on a hacker with the alias “Manfred” who has been living off selling in-game items to other players for over 20 years.
The difference to the ordinary “China farmer”: Manfred has managed to steal all possessions. For two decades, he has searched for security vulnerabilities and bugs in games to duplicate gold and items.
Everything began back then with Ultima Online in 1997. Properties were a limited and sought-after commodity. Manfred found an error in the code that allowed him to take properties from other players and override them to himself. He sold one of these buildings as a trial – and received nearly $2,000. He reportedly did this almost 100 times and funded his college with it.
But even newer games are not safe from him. In a presentation, he showed recordings of how he created an impressive sum of 18 quadrillion coins in the MMORPG WildStar with just a few maneuvers (an 18 followed by 24 zeros).
This translates into a real value of a staggering 400 trillion dollars. The only limitation here is the purchasing power of the players who would buy gold (or in the case of WildStar: platinum) from him.
The trick with all the hacks was to remain as inconspicuous as possible. He never intended to beat other players or to blow the whistle on the whole thing. If he could operate unnoticed and undetected by the developers, his business ran. Therefore, it was also important for him to keep his methods confidential.
Now, however, “Manfred” has had enough. According to his own statements, the reason is that the business model of developers has changed. In the past, developers sold games and perhaps a subscription fee, today they sell in-game items themselves.
This puts him in direct competition with the developers and their business model, and he “doesn’t feel comfortable” with what he was doing. With his skills, he is – not surprisingly – now part of a security firm. Since he knows the loopholes, he is probably well placed here.
What do you think of this story? A different idea to finance a living? Or should something like this be harshly punished? Let us know in the comments.
