World of Warcraft Bans ‘A Large Number’ of Players

Maybe think twice before using that cheat code.

Blizzard Entertainment has banned “a large number” of World of Warcraft accounts after finding that they were using bots, or “third-party programs that automate gameplay” according to a company post. The number of banned accounts was not revealed in Blizzard’s post, but a widely cited screenshot from a user’s chat with a game master indicates that more than 100,000 accounts were banned for six months. World of Warcraft has an estimated 7.1 million active subscribers.

In addition to an explanation of the ban, Blizzard encouraged World of Warcraft players to report accounts they suspected of cheating.

“We’re committed to providing an equal and fair playing field for everyone in World of Warcraft, and will continue to take action against those found in violation of our Terms of Use,” the company post read. “Cheating of any form will not be tolerated.”

The game’s community manager, Micah Whipple, tweeted a response to the cheating from his World of Warcraft persona account: