Gold Farming Used as Prison Labor in China

The practice of “Gold Farming” is already a dubious business, but the Guardian has uncovered evidence that in China it may serve as a form of prison labor, in addition to a grueling profession. While the profitability of collecting virtual currencies in games like World of Warcraft, EVE Online, and Everquest is enough to have built a thriving black market, an ex-prison-guard-turned-prisoner named Liu Dali reveals that some prisons may also force prisoners to gold farm, in addition to more traditional forms of prison labor like mining or manufacturing. Dali, who earned his prison sentence for attempting to report corruption, relayed his experience to the Guardian.

Prison bosses made more money forcing inmates to play games than they do forcing people to do manual labour. There were 300 prisoners forced to play games. We worked 12-hour shifts in the camp. I heard them say they could earn 5,000-6,000rmb [£470-570] a day. We didn’t see any of the money. The computers were never turned off.

Prisoners who fail to meet their quotas are forced into uncomfortable positions or beaten. While many gamers consider the constant grinding found in role-playing games to be a sort of torture in itself, it pales in comparison to prisoners who are forced to keep playing “until we could barely see things”.