Path of Exile could be cracking down harder on RMT, as player reports warning message

Real money trading has long been an issue in Path of Exile. While some are looking to make a quick, lucrative buck from their endgame gear, others who are strapped for time pay to skip the RPG's often unforgiving grind. While developer Grinding Gear Games has issued bans in the past for partaking in the terms of service-breaking trade, it looks like it is ramping up its efforts to stamp RMT out for good.

Recently, a viewer of Path of Exile creator 'Zizaran' sent him an image of a new warning message they had received, stating that their account "had been detected trading in-game items or progress for real money." According to Zizaran, the viewer "swears he's innocent," so it's probably a good thing he was only slapped with a warning if so. By the sounds of things, GGG is putting more effort into automating RMT bans, which can only be a good thing provided the developer-publisher has its algorithm locked in.

"We take Real Money Trading very seriously because it damages Path of Exile's economy and undermines the fairness of the game," the warning continues. "It's not fair for other players who earn their progress by playing the game properly." PoE is the very definition of a time sink, requiring hundreds, if not thousands of hours to attain the shiniest loot it offers. Whether it's PoE, or any of the other games out there that require a similar level of personal investment, it's fundamentally unfair to have that hard work undermined by someone else's wallet.

Though some have claimed that this is some elaborate April Fools' joke, given the date Zizaran's viewer shared the image, I do believe GGG is cracking down. At the end of last month, 'Jenebu,' owner of the once-popular The Forbidden Trove Discord trading server, was banned for unknown reasons. Some have speculated that he may have been RMT'ing some of the many rare items he held in his possession, though this is, of course, unconfirmed. If there's fire to the smoke, though, then this latest development appears to be part of a more concerted push to deal with RMT.

The Forbidden Trove was once the go-to destination for late-game gear trading. Over time, GGG has progressively added more ways for players to barter in-game, with the addition of PoE 2's asynchronous trading system to the OG in October's Keepers of the Flame expansion being the most recent example. Now, it seems that GGG is better-positioned to keep tabs on unscrupulous transactions and act accordingly.