Some in the gaming world have speculated that Musk is not the gamer he claims to be after seeing his livestreams in which he plays a well-known role-playing game.
Once more, Elon Musk is facing up against online detractors. It’s the video gaming community this time.
In response to claims that he is not nearly the gamer he claims to be, the tech giant has recently taken time out of his positions as president-elect Donald Trump’s adviser and CEO of SpaceX to criticize some of the niche content producers in the gaming industry.
In recent livestreams, Musk played Path of Exile 2, a well-known online role-playing game where players choose from a variety of characters to stop corruption from spreading over the fictitious realm of Wraeclast. The accusations amount to a type of stolen valor for video games. A character’s death is irrevocable when playing in tough mode, which Musk does. Players’ characters gain strength and abilities as they level up.
However, a number of players have called attention to what they claim is a significant disparity. When they were “alive,” two of Musk’s characters were extremely strong—among the top 100 most powerful people in the planet. Two of these characters have since “died” and are now rated in the 30s and 200s, respectively. Depending on the player, completing the levels of Musk’s now-deceased characters might take dozens or perhaps hundreds of hours of playtime. However, some gamers seem to think that his talents are weak.
In a video released on Sunday, Zack Hoyt, better known to his 3.29 million YouTube subscribers as Asmongold, declared, “I’m a huge fan of Elon Musk — but this is embarrassing and very silly.” It’s completely pointless and gives him a horrible reputation. It does nothing and has no repercussions.
After he livestreamed himself playing Path of Exile 2 on January 7, the X CEO, who has always characterized himself as a keen gamer, started to get criticism online. Some accused Musk of having someone “boost” his account, or play for him, in the Reddit community a few days later. Others said he was playing on an account belonging to a more experienced gamer.
The charges about Musk’s gaming talents gathered pace when Hoyt and many notable game producers began stepping in, publishing YouTube videos that have gotten millions of views and disseminated throughout other platforms, like X. They identified what they characterized as evidence of Musk proving he’s not the great player that he claims to be, including ignoring lucrative in-game commodities that players nearly always pick up.
Musk spent the early morning hours of Thursday defending himself against the charges and screaming obscenities at Hoyt, alleging that he is brilliant at “caustic commentary” but not good at video games.
Later on, Hoyt revealed that Musk had unfollowed him and that his blue checkmark on X had disappeared (it has now reappeared).
A request for response via email was not answered by Musk.
The vast online gaming community includes hundreds of individual creators who produce thousands of videos analyzing the many complex and time-consuming games that have gained popularity, as well as talking about intrigue and community drama. It also features a constant hum of message boards and chat rooms.
A somewhat unofficial code of ethics is also part of the community’s culture: Players that invest the time to master a game and grow as individuals are rewarded with more respect, but these accolades are earned rather than purchased. High-profile gamers are welcome — but they’re also scrutinized, especially when they make grand claims.
Additionally, Musk has long been under investigation by the gaming community. Some in the online gaming community pointed out in 2022 that Musk, who frequently talked about how much he loved playing the game Elden Ring, had made his character redundant by carrying two heavy swords and two heavy shields, which would slow down his magic-casting abilities.
Additionally, some of Musk’s earlier gaming boasts are being reexamined. YouTuber and video game content producer Charlie Christopher White Jr. pointed out on January 11 that Musk claimed to be one of the top 20 players in the world for Diablo IV, another ARPG similar to Path of Exile 2, during an interview with “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast in November of last year.
“You should at least be quite proficient in Path of Exile if you’re a great Diablo player. In a video that has received over 4.6 million views, White stated, “And he’s just not.”
Others have questioned how Musk, who spends many hours playing video games, manages to balance his responsibilities at SpaceX and X with his preparations for his position as head of the new Department of Government Efficiency in the next Trump administration.
Musk said in a recent post on X that he played video games as a way to decompress when he wasn’t busy with his children or his enterprises.
“My one leisure activity to decompress is playing video games. He said in the article, “Playing video games is my strange solace on some really tough days.”
According to others, Musk may be the one playing for hours on end to level up his character while avoiding other obligations, despite his dubious abilities while broadcasting. Musk gave Rogan a tale on the November podcast episode that supports that view.
“I think I spent more time playing Quake in my last semester of college than I did in all of my classes,” Musk said Rogan, adding that he was once among the world’s top Quake gamers. What Musk’s position was inside Quake is unknown.
By :- Next Tech Plus
