Chinese Government Outlaws Gold Farming

It’s the end of an era. Gold farming -– the oh-so-reviled practice that even tops Communism and depressing thoughts about Guns N’ Roses on some people’s lists of “Things Immediately Associated with China” -– has been dealt a potentially fatal blow.

As of June 29, trading virtual currency for real goods or services is illegal in China. In other words, closing your eyes and chucking a bit of real-life coin into games like WoW won’t land you in a Scrooge McDuck-esque pool of in-game gold; it’ll land you in prison.

The Chinese government justified the ban saying that, by drawing this line between real and virtual currency, it hopes to crack down on “gambling and other illegal online activities.” It is important to note, however, that in-game gear apparently isn’t considered currency, so corralling and selling virtual items to those willing to spend hard-earned cash on a videogame (yet not willing to play said videogame) may still be legal.
 
A 2008 study conducted by Richard Heeks at Manchester University found that 80% to 85% of gold farmers are located in China. Obviously, then, this ban is a pretty huge deal. Granted, we’re talking about the guys and gals who managed to -– in the face of pressure from game companies -- continue peddling their services by spelling out ads through rows upon rows of meticulously organized in-game corpses, so we doubt China’s gold farming population will go down without a fight.