Blizzard Reminds WoW Players It's Illegal To Buy Gold (Unless You Buy From Them)

Here is a 193-word summary of the news article: Blizzard has issued a warning to World of Warcraft players about the dangers of buying gold from third-party sellers. The company states that this puts accounts at risk of being hacked and supports companies that engage in unethical practices. Blizzard reminds players that purchasing gold from other players violates the game's end-user license agreement, and that illegally acquired gold may be removed or accounts permanently banned. However, Blizzard's recommendation that players instead purchase gold through the official WoW Token system has drawn criticism from some in the WoW community. Critics argue that the ability to buy unlimited in-game gold with real money effectively makes the game "pay-to-win." Others point out that the WoW Token is unavailable in certain regions or for certain versions of the game, making Blizzard's advice inaccessible for those players. Blizzard does regularly ban botting accounts and makes efforts to combat account theft and disruption of the in-game economy. The company will fully reveal its next WoW expansion, Midnight, at Gamescom, which is set to introduce a long-awaited player housing feature.