The creators of HonorBuddy, a popular World of Warcraft bot that was recently detected by Blizzard, has admitted defeat and apologised to its users.

Posting on the official Honorbuddy forum, staff member "Bossland" reminded users of the risk associated with using bots in Blizzard's MMO.

"It seems like Honorbuddy was detected, we are not sure, but looking at the BAN THREADS, we think that its the most likely option at the moment," said Bossland.

"We are sorry for all your lost WOW Accounts, hopefully you can use them again after the 6 month ban is lifted. I have read here in the forums a bit, a lot of the accounts were 10 years old. This is a pity. We always say, do not use your valuable accounts as the risk is always there."

Bossland also reminded users of Glider, another popular bot that suffered a similar fate, and emphasised that the team hadn't considered its bot immune to being caught in Blizzard's detection net.

"Some of us seem to forget the Gilder times. With Glider you knew that there where 2 software detections a year, it just happened," Bossland continued.

"With Honorbuddy you thought that we are unbeatable, [but] we never thought that, we've succeeded since 2010 - HonorBuddy had not a single software detection. It seems there is one now."

Currently, the company hasn't reflected the bot's vulnerabilities on the front of its website and, it seems, HonorBuddy can still be purchased. By using it, players can automate the process of running around collecting honour in PvP.

Blizzard issued temporary bans to a large number of World of Warcraft bot users on May 14, and HonorBuddy users were one of the main groups affected.

"We’re committed to providing an equal and fair playing field for everyone in World of Warcraft," said Blizzard.

"[We] will continue to take action against those found in violation of our Terms of Use. Cheating of any form will not be tolerated."