“In the digital realm, as in life, the greatest sin is not paying others to do your work—it’s getting caught.” – Anonymous Gaming Coach to 14 Fortune 500 CEOs.
In what tech historians are already calling “The Assassination of Elon Musk by the Coward Assassin’s Creed Social Media Manager,” the world’s second-richest man found himself thoroughly eviscerated on his own social media platform this week after criticizing the popular video game franchise in a tweet that spectacularly backfired.
The digital equivalent of bringing a butter knife to a chainsaw fight began when Elon Musk attacked Twitch streamer Hasan Piker for promoting Assassin’s Creed Shadows, declaring him a “fraud” and “sell-out” who was “objectively… promoting a terrible game just for the money”.1 The official Assassin’s Creed account responded with devastating precision: “Is that what the guy playing your Path of Exile 2 account told you?”2
The response—referencing Musk’s recently-admitted habit of paying others to boost his video game characters while claiming the accomplishments as his own—has racked up over 456,000 likes compared to Musk’s original tweet’s 30,000.3 The savage ratio prompted gaming industry observers to declare it the most efficient digital assassination since someone finally convinced your grandmother that the Nigerian prince wasn’t actually going to share his fortune.
The Billionaire Gaming Underground
What began as a simple X (formerly Twitter) spat has inadvertently exposed what industry insiders are calling “Silicon Valley’s worst-kept secret”—an elaborate underground network of professional gamers employed by tech billionaires, finance bros, and corporate executives to maintain their gaming credentials while they attend to trivial matters like “running Fortune 500 companies” and “sleeping 4 hours.”
According to the just-released “Bloomberg Billionaire Gaming Index,” approximately 94% of male tech executives who claim to be “serious gamers” actually employ teams of skilled players to maintain their accounts, customize their characters, and ensure they remain competitive without having to endure the indignity of actually learning how to play.
“It’s the logical evolution of the executive assistant,” explains Dr. Melanie Chen, author of “Proxy Play: How the Ultra-Wealthy Game the Gaming System.” “First, they had people manage their emails, then their social media, then their dating apps, and now their gaming accounts. If a CEO actually played his own video games, when would he find time to attend conferences about the future of work?”
The industry operates with surprising sophistication. Gaming proxies sign NDAs, undergo voice training to mimic their employers during streams, and sometimes live in separate wings of mansions to ensure 24/7 coverage across multiple time zones. Some proxies are even required to intentionally make occasional mistakes to maintain the illusion of human play.
Player Two Has Entered The Game
Musk’s proxy gaming confession has sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley, where executives are scrambling to distance themselves from similar accusations. The controversy has spawned a new term—”Musking”—defined by Urban Dictionary as “claiming credit for digital accomplishments performed by people you’ve paid.”
“I’ve personally managed gaming accounts for three Fortune 500 CEOs and one former cabinet secretary,” reveals Jake Thornton, a professional gamer who recently left the “executive gaming services” industry after a moral awakening. “One tech founder insisted I lose exactly 32% of matches to maintain believability, but never to players ranked below a certain threshold. Another required me to use his exact catchphrases when trash-talking opponents.”
According to Thornton, the billionaire gaming proxy industry employs over 10,000 professional gamers worldwide, with annual salaries ranging from $80,000 for basic account maintenance to over $400,000 for elite players handling multiple games for high-profile clients.
“The going rate for maintaining a top-500 Diablo character is about $12,000 monthly,” Thornton explains. “For a top-20 ranking like Musk claimed? That’s premium tier—probably $30,000 minimum, plus performance bonuses.”
The Authenticity Economy
Gaming proxy services represent just one facet of what sociologists call “the authenticity economy”—a booming industry where the ultra-wealthy outsource aspects of their personality to maintain the impression of being well-rounded humans despite inhuman work schedules.
The International Authenticity Bureau’s latest report identified several growing sectors:
- Gaming proxies ($1.2 billion annually)
- Book summarizers who prepare executives to discuss bestsellers they haven’t read ($340 million)
- Netflix consultants who ensure clients can discuss trending shows in meetings ($220 million)
- Hobby specialists who maintain the appearance of interests like photography, cooking, or mountain climbing ($890 million)
“What we’re seeing is the commodification of personal authenticity,” explains Dr. Aisha Johnson, Professor of Digital Economics at Stanford. “When your personal brand is worth billions, outsourcing your hobbies is just good business. The problem arises when you attack others for inauthenticity while hiding your own manufactured persona.”
The Great Gaming Purge
In the wake of Musk’s proxy gaming scandal, executives across industries are conducting what insiders call “digital authenticity audits” to identify potential vulnerabilities in their carefully constructed online personas.
“I’ve had three different CEOs call me this week asking me to scrub their accounts of any evidence of proxy players,” reveals cybersecurity expert Marcus Wong. “One literally asked if we could ‘backdoor the blockchain’ to erase his gaming history. I had to explain that’s not how any of this works.”
Gaming companies have also been forced to respond. Blizzard Entertainment, maker of Diablo IV, has announced a new “Actual Player Verification” system requiring random webcam checks during gameplay. Path of Exile developer Grinding Gear Games has implemented what they call “Executive Detection Algorithms” designed to flag accounts suspected of being maintained by professional proxies.
“Our system looks for patterns like accounts that are only active between 11 PM and 4 AM on weekdays, or that mysteriously play 18 hours straight during stock market crashes,” explains GGG spokesperson Samantha Lee. “We’ve already identified over 6,000 suspected proxy accounts belonging to individuals worth over $50 million.”
The Streisand Effect In Full Force
For Musk, the attempt to criticize Assassin’s Creed has created a textbook example of the Streisand Effect—drawing massive attention to his own gaming inauthenticity while actually boosting interest in the game he attempted to disparage.
“This is like watching someone try to put out a fire with a tanker full of gasoline,” notes marketing expert David Ortiz. “Ubisoft couldn’t have planned better marketing if they tried. Their social media response has generated an estimated $18.2 million in earned media value.”
Indeed, according to gaming industry tracker GameStat, pre-orders for Assassin’s Creed Shadows jumped 34% in the 24 hours following the Twitter exchange, with particular spikes among users describing themselves as “anti-Musk” in their profiles.4
Meanwhile, Musk himself has remained uncharacteristically silent since the exchange, though sources within his companies report he has directed his legal team to explore whether the term “Musking” constitutes trademark infringement.
The Proxy Wars Escalate
As the drama continues to unfold, a new, even more bizarre dimension has emerged: companies selling “Anti-Detection Gaming Setups” designed to hide proxy gaming from increasingly sophisticated detection methods.
“Our ProxyShield package includes hardware that simulates consistent ping patterns, proprietary AI that mimics your personal playing style, and even fingerprint-simulation technology,” explains the website for EliteGameFront, one of several services marketing to wealthy gamers concerned about being “Musked.”
These services don’t come cheap. Basic proxy concealment packages start at $50,000, with premium options reaching $250,000 for what one company calls “forensic-proof gaming authentication.”
Dr. Johnson sees a troubling trend: “We’re witnessing the beginning of an arms race between authentication and deception technologies. Soon, distinguishing between authentic and proxy gameplay will be nearly impossible.”
The Real Humans Strike Back
Not everyone is accepting this new reality without resistance. A growing movement of gamers calling themselves “Auth-Players” has emerged, advocating for transparency in gaming and rejecting proxy services.
“Gaming used to be one of the few meritocracies left,” explains Auth-Players founder Terry Wu. “It didn’t matter if you were rich or poor, CEO or janitor—your skill determined your status. Now, like everything else, it’s being corrupted by wealth inequality.”
The movement has created authentication protocols where players livestream themselves with multiple camera angles and biometric verification to prove they’re actually playing. Top Auth-Players proudly display badges on their profiles declaring “I Play My Own Games” and “Authentic Gamer.”
Some game developers are embracing the movement. Independent studio Authentic Entertainment has announced “TruePlay,” a game that requires continuous biometric verification including heart rate monitoring, eye-tracking, and moisture sensors on controllers to confirm the registered player is actually playing.
The Twist: When Gaming Meets Real Life
In perhaps the most ironic development yet, Hasan Piker—the streamer whose sponsored Assassin’s Creed content sparked this controversy—has challenged Musk to a public gaming duel.5
“You paid someone to power-level your character in POE2… I will cook your fat rolling a**,” Piker wrote, suggesting an Elden Ring competition to settle the score.
The proposed showdown has already attracted major attention, with streaming platform Twitch offering $1 million to charity if Musk accepts the challenge. Las Vegas sportsbooks have opened betting lines, with Musk currently listed as a 50:1 underdog.
“This would be the gaming equivalent of the 1973 Billie Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs ‘Battle of the Sexes’ tennis match,” notes e-sports historian Jennifer Clarke. “Except in this case, it’s authentic gaming skill versus purchased prestige.”
Tech industry observers note a deeper significance to the controversy. “What we’re really seeing is a collision between old and new models of status,” explains cultural critic Raymond Park. “Traditional status came from wealth accumulation and conspicuous consumption. Digital native status comes from demonstrated skill and authentic community participation.”
“Musk represents the old guard trying to purchase what can only be earned,” Park continues. “And his public humiliation demonstrates how that approach ultimately fails in digital spaces.”
As of press time, Musk has not responded to Piker’s challenge, though sources close to the billionaire report he has hired three additional proxy gamers and a voice coach to prepare for the possibility of a showdown.
Whether the gaming duel materializes or not, one thing is clear: in the authenticity economy, the richest man in the world can still get utterly destroyed by a social media manager armed with nothing but the truth.
Editor’s Note: TechOnion has confirmed that our editorial team plays their own video games, though we admit to occasionally letting our cats walk across the keyboard when we need a bio break. Unlike billionaires, we can’t afford professional proxies, just caffeine and the occasional pizza delivery.
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References
- https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/03/26/elon-musk-gaming-habits-assassins-creed-hasan-piker/ ↩︎
- https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/assassins-creed-shadows-twitter-elon-musk-roast/ ↩︎
- https://www.gamesradar.com/games/assassin-s-creed/assassins-creed-shadows-hits-out-at-elon-musk-after-he-criticized-the-new-rpg-is-that-what-the-guy-playing-your-path-of-exile-2-account-told-you/ ↩︎
- https://aftermath.site/assassins-creed-shadows-ubisoft-elon-musk-twitter-ratio ↩︎
- https://tribune.com.pk/story/2536543/ubisoft-claps-back-at-elon-musk-after-he-calls-assassins-creed-shadows-a-terrible-game-on-x ↩︎
