World of Warcraft: Classic has struggled with a persistent gold selling problem throughout its existence. However, with the upcoming release of World of Warcraft: Forever, Blizzard appears determined to curb this trend, and some prominent streamers have recently faced consequences for suspected real-money trading (RMT).
Prior to Forever's beta, the Classic economy was significantly impacted by the popularity of GDKP raids. In these raids, players would bid gold on items dropped by bosses, a practice that, combined with lax enforcement of RMT rules by Blizzard, resulted in millions of gold being injected into the game's economies. Blizzard has stated that GDKP will not be permitted in World of Warcraft: Forever, a move aimed at creating a fairer in-game economy.
The company is also addressing the issue of RMT directly. In the past few days, several Classic streamers have been targeted by Blizzard due to suspected RMT activities. WoW commentator N_Tys26 shared a clip showing streamer Ziqo having a substantial amount of gold reclaimed by Blizzard, leaving him with only 9 silver and stranded in a remote zone.
While Ziqo's gold was reclaimed, his account was not banned. However, streamer Payo reportedly had one of his accounts banned for promoting gold selling on stream. N_Tys26 also shared another clip of Payo soliciting gold from his audience. Despite this ban, Payo has already launched a new account and is slated to participate in a $100,000 dueling tournament.
It is possible that the increased visibility of streamers' actions leads to more severe penalties compared to the average player. Blizzard has been contacted for comment on the matter. Nevertheless, taking action against streamers involved in or promoting RMT could serve as a deterrent to other players considering purchasing gold.
These actions during the beta phase are a positive sign that Blizzard is actively working to prevent economic distortions before the game's full launch on November 4. The developers have also focused on ensuring the game appeals to Classic players and have previously addressed issues with inappropriate character names.