Next Level Pay-to-Win? Why Path of Exile 2 Fans Are Angry at Elon Musk?

The richest person on the planet, Elon Musk, is no stranger to controversy. Nor is this the first time his name has been tied to gaming: in 2022, the billionaire bragged about beating Elden Ring, and later even shared his build. Although many fans mocked his “not-so-optimal“ character stats on social media, the uproar faded fairly quickly. The same can’t be said of the latest controversy over how he plays Path of Exile 2. So, what exactly happened?

The game launched in Early Access last year on December 6, and it was already generating plenty of hype, even without Musk's involvement. By ARPG standards, the Path of Exile sequel is a major release and the chief rival to Diablo 4 (by the way, the American entrepreneur played that one too). The team at Grinding Gear Games promises that PoE2 will keep all of its predecessor’s strengths while steadily evolving—indeed, the game is actively updated based on player feedback. Like the previous installment, the new Path of Exile features deep gameplay mechanics that let you finetune your character, plus a fairly high difficulty level—especially if you opt for Hardcore mode, where character death is permanent.

Considering such a steep learning curve, the PoE2 community was surprised to hear that Musk not only picked up the new game but apparently did so well that he supposedly broke into the top ranks of Path of Exile 2’s global leaderboard—and on Hardcore, no less.

On December 17, 2024, Musk hosted his very first PoE2 livestream, but the biggest broadcast from his account happened last week—on January 7. During that stream, the billionaire showed off his Hardcore character named Kekius_Maximus, demonstrating his gear and clearing several levels. Interestingly, on January 2, Kekius_Maximus was sitting at the 163rd spot on the in-game global ladder.

Fans of PoE2 immediately noticed some inconsistencies between Kekius’s power level and Elon Musk’s own gameplay skills. Although he insisted he was playing “totally fair” and that no one had “boosted” his character, his grasp of the game’s basic mechanics seemed lacking. For instance, he didn’t know how to fast-travel around the map, forgot to use mana flasks (odd for someone who reached 163rd spot on the leaderboard), and couldn’t really explain why his gear was so good. Even though Kekius_Maximus had one of the strongest possible weapons in the game, Musk complained about the lower level of the item instead of highlighting its nearly flawless randomly generated stats—an odd focus, especially since any PoE2 player will tell you the item’s level barely matters in real combat.

Fans of Path of Exile 2 and gaming journalists quickly spread the theory that Musk wasn’t being honest about how deep his knowledge of the game really is. Almost immediately, people speculated that the head of Tesla and SpaceX might not play PoE2 at all and that someone else had leveled up his character for him.

On the main r/PathOfExile2 subreddit, Musk’s story underwent a meticulous breakdown: one of the largest threads discussing it hit 13 thousand upvotes. Commenters pointed out not just the questionable inconsistencies already mentioned, but also the fact that the American businessman didn’t seem to understand how to use his skills or special abilities in synergy. Conspiracy theories soon sprang up, suggesting that Musk’s overpowered character had actually been provided by Grinding Gear Games themselves to further promote the game.

Popular streamers—such as Casual Kripp and Quin69TV—analyzed the billionaire’s livestream in detail. Having each played PoE2 for dozens of hours, they concluded that Musk would have had to grind Path of Exile 2 practically nonstop since launch to level up Kekius on his own.

Not everyone rushed to grab their pitchforks. Some PoE2 players speculated that Musk simply got a helping hand from other users in co-op who gifted him powerful items. Others suggested that maybe Musk does know the ins and outs of Path of Exile 2 but, being a busy workaholic, he was tired and distracted during the livestream—explaining his poor reactions to what was happening on screen. There were also those who said it doesn’t really matter whether he leveled up his character alone: what counts is the extra attention he’s bringing to Path of Exile 2. And for that, it might be worth thanking a man who has 212 million followers on one of the biggest social networks.

All the buzz has highlighted two big issues in today’s gaming community. On one hand, a lot of gamers have grown resentful of large-scale influencer promoting games. They feel you can’t truly trust a celebrity’s opinion if they’ve only barely checked a game (or might not have even played it at all). On the other hand, players worry about the reputation of their favorite projects, especially online ones. If a media figure as prominent as Musk openly exploits Path of Exile 2, what kind of example does that set for everyone else?

Ultimately, no one can say with absolute certainty whether Elon Musk lied about leveling his character fairly or if he’s been truthful. But if this story gets any new twists—be it comments from Musk himself or an official word from Grinding Gear Games—rest assured we’ll be back with more details, both in our news coverage and likely right here in this article.

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What do you think of all the fuss around Musk and Path of Exile 2? Or does it not matter to you at all? Share your thoughts in the comments.