X/Twitter proprietor Elon Musk lit up social media feeds in the present day when he launched a wave of posts publicly criticizing Twitch streamer and content material creator Zack Hoyt (a.ok.a. Asmongold) following controversy concerning the tech billionaire’s high-level gameplay of Grinding Gear Video games’ Path of Exile 2.
Musk first shared his ideas in a reply to a post from YouTuber Screamheart, who revealed a two-minute clip from a brand new video that dives into the allegations surrounding the X proprietor’s Path of Exile 2 gameplay. The full video totals eight minutes and consists of roughly 20 seconds of footage from Asmongold’s livestreams the place he alleges that Musk shouldn’t be completely liable for the progress made on his degree 97 Path of Exile 2 character.
“There is no such thing as a method he performed that account. Like, I’m sorry,” Asmongold says within the clip. “I feel he purchased the account, or anyone performed it for him. 100-f***ing-percent.”
Asmon behaves like a maverick “impartial”, however in actuality has to ask his boss for permission earlier than he can do something. He’s not his personal man.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2025
Musk’s response features a collection of replies the place he calls the streamer “not his personal man.” The billionaire additionally took the chance to publish what Asmongold is calling a picture of “leaked” direct messages shared via X the place the 2 beforehand spoke about how the streamer manages his YouTube account. It was a second that has led to a messy back-and-forth between the 2 social media giants, and it’s preceded by in-depth investigation into Musk’s involvement within the gaming area.
Musk has lengthy been championed as a gaming fanatic. For years, he’s talked about his appreciation for Blizzard Leisure’s work on titles like Overwatch, and simply yesterday, he said he nonetheless performs video games “as my one leisure exercise to quiet my thoughts.”
Nonetheless, Musk’s self-proclaimed gaming prowess has been introduced into query in latest months as gamers started to take a more in-depth take a look at his efficiency and data of the video games he performs.
One title that has seemingly taken up tons of of hours of Musk’s time is 2023’s Diablo 4, although as he’s climbed leaderboards and chatted with builders on X, many have commented on how a lot time he may be dedicating to Blizzard’s dungeon-crawling expertise. In November of final yr, the billionaire boasted about his place as one of many prime 20 Diablo 4 gamers on the planet, and he reached the number one spot a few weeks later. Whereas others spend tons of if not hundreds of hours merely chipping away on the unending faucet of content material obtainable, Musk has maintained his gaming status whereas juggling his tasks as a figurehead of corporations like X, SpaceX, Tesla, Neuralink, and extra.
Leaking my DM’s is one factor however that is completely uncalled for https://t.co/I4eRo2QPKF
— Zack (@Asmongold) January 16, 2025
Dialogue about Musk’s skills as a gamer reached a brand new degree after a latest, early January livestream that noticed Musk tackling endgame duties in Path of Exile 2 drew criticism from followers. Movies like these from content material creators equivalent to Quin69TV, penguinz0, and Asmongold have garnered thousands and thousands of views as motion RPG veterans analyze footage and commentary posted by the tech big. One particular level of competition revolves round his (now deceased) degree 97 Hardcore character, Percy_Verence.
“Two weeks into the league, when persons are enjoying the sport, actually, they’re staying up 40 to 50 hours with out sleeping, solely enjoying Path of Exile – and they’re probably the most try-hard guys on the planet – the highest-ranked participant within the Hardcore commerce league was degree 93,” Quin69TV explains in his video ‘Elon Musk is Mendacity About Being Good at Video Video games.’
“You’re considering to your self, ‘That’s form of near 97.’ Each time you degree up, it turns into exponentially more durable to realize expertise. Quite a bit more durable. So, these gamers, to get to degree 97, needed to be enjoying the sport each day for almost all of their day.”
Musk’s stream options a variety of moments that gamers are pointing to as indicators he will not be fairly as conversant in Path of Exile 2’s endgame mechanics as one may anticipate him to be after spending a lot time in its world.
Seemingly struggling to entry Maps, unusual tab names, illogical stock administration, forsaking uncommon loot, and a disregard for notoriously highly effective weapons is simply a number of the proof from Musk’s stream that gamers are utilizing to accuse the billionaire of not enjoying practically as a lot as he says he’s.
Many are working with the idea that Musk may be paying others to spice up his Path of Exile account for him, although there isn’t any affirmation of this. The “why?” within the system stays a thriller, too, however the thought is that sustaining his standing as a gaming knowledgeable is one thing Musk is fascinated by, no matter whether or not he’s really the one enjoying the video games.
Asmongold, whose YouTube channel options quite a few different movies discussing content material and updates for Path of Exile 2, took the time to handle the subject together with his personal video referred to as ‘Elon Musk shouldn’t be getting away with this…’ Within the footage, he largely agrees with Quin69TV’s evaluation of the scenario, believing that Musk will not be as truthful about his expertise as he’s letting on.
“I assumed it was actually cool that Elon Musk was, like, a severe participant of Diablo, and every thing. I did,” Asmongold says. “I assumed it was superior, and I wager he most likely did play PoE 2 on day one. I do. I wager he most likely performed it, after which he stopped.”
I’m on tons of of streams on YouTube/Twitch enjoying dwell with the world’s greatest gamers.
No different technique to say this, however, whereas Asmon IS good at caustic commentary and making enjoyable of individuals, he’s NOT good at video video games 🤷♂️
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 16, 2025
Within the fallout of Musk’s posts to Asmongold, X’s personal Neighborhood Notes function has chimed in to make clear a couple of factors. Concerning the tech billionaire’s feedback suggesting that Asmongold should ask his bosses for permission, Neighborhood Notes clarifies that the workers talked about within the leaked screenshots are the streamer’s editor, not his bosses. The user-driven function additionally addressed Musk’s remark that Asmongold is “NOT good at video video games” by itemizing his achievements in World of Warcraft.
“Was he most likely not completely satisfied in regards to the PoE video? He’ll recover from it,” Asmongold added in a recent livestream. “Hear – it was so apparent. You can not get mad at me for bringing this up. All people was speaking about this. Come on, man.”
Elon has indirectly addressed the widespread criticisms concerning his Path of Exile 2 gameplay on the time of this story’s publication.
Michael Cripe is a contract contributor with IGN. He began writing within the trade in 2017 and is greatest recognized for his work at shops equivalent to The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Make sure to give him a observe on Twitter @MikeCripe.
