NSA Spied On Players in World of Warcraft, Xbox Live: Report

Edward Snowden's leaks have been the source of many revelations about the NSA, their international counterparts, and the things they do over at the shadowy agency.

One of the activities indulged by the NSA is, apparently, to play video games online under the guise of protecting the country from foreign invaders and defending national security. Since 2008, the agency has been monitoring online gaming communities by sending real-life agents into MMORPGs like World of Warcraft and Second Life while posing as players. Xbox Live was also targeted by the agency.

While it's not totally clear as to why the agency and its British counterpart the GCHQ thought it necessary to monitor Barrens Chat for terrorists, there is some sense that online games could be used as communications hubs by these organizations.

The Guardian report states that none of the leaked files suggest that anyone was ever caught by the NSA while playing a video game, but these operations were so numerous that at one point an NSA analyst called for a "deconfliction group" to be set up to prevent the agency's operations from overlapping.

Blizzard Entertainment says it was unaware of any surveillance taking place in World of Warcraft and certainly has never granted any permission for its players to be observed.

The relevant files will be published by The Guardian later today.