World of Warcraft Forever cracks down on real-money trading, takes $200 worth of gold from streamer

World of Warcraft: Forever fans have worried about the potential of real-money trading since Blizzard first unveiled the new MMO during BlizzCon 2026 – but, thankfully, it appears that the studio is cracking down on it prior to the full release.

Now that the World of Warcraft: Forever Beta is out in full force, some players have begun to suspect certain content creators for engaging in, well, real-money trading for in-game gold.

The suspicions have risen to an all-time high after fans spotted the gold that Twitch streamer Ziqo ("ziqoftw" on the platform) supposedly accumulated naturally – or at least not via any illicit means – as he somehow boasted some 380 gold or so.

That's a lot… so much so, in fact, that it comes in at $200 or so in real-life money, as one user points out over on X (that is, if you use shady websites to purchase it – websites I will not be linking to here).

Players immediately called for Ziqo and others they suspect like him to face in-game bans or some other form of punishment from Blizzard. In the words of the linked fan above, "I call for a 12 months ban, including the tournament."

They add that the developers "promised us even 20 year old accounts would get banned," referencing how Blizzard previously stated that World of Warcraft: Forever's economy is "something we're taking very seriously" – which, honestly, it seems it is.

That's because the studio did indeed take action against Ziqo, as a separate thread with a clip of the streamer attached points out. It actually took back his gold.

In it, Ziqo confirms as much, saying, "Blizzard did sweep up all my gold." He goes on to describe how "they cleansed it; they left me with nine silver," showing his inventory – and, yep, he's no longer rich… that's for sure.

So, there you have it, Blizzard is cracking down on fans likely engaging in real-money trading, and it's a welcome sight. Some players think the devs should be even more strict, though.

Comments show calls for "permabans" and the like – but Blizzard itself hasn't done so, as far as I can tell. Will they? Perhaps. They've been targeting inappropriate names recently as well, so it's not outside the realm of possibilities.

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