Blizzard will finally shut down its real money auction houses on March 18, 2014. The auction houses, which has seen its fair share of controversy, was seen as “undermining the game’s core gameplay” – kill enemies for better loot…over a year after the game – and the auction houses – were announced.
The real money auction houses allows Diablo III gamers to trade for in-game gold and weapons with real money. Blizzard introduced the auction houses as a means of eliminating trades that were being done online, which was especially prevalent in Diablo II. As it turned out, the auction houses took away one of the game’s looting experience that is one of the hallmarks of the genre.
Hence, the auction houses will be taken down on March 18, 2014. The extended time frame will provide as much advance notice as possible to gamers should they need to close any pending deals that they may have. Blizzard feels that the introduction of the new Loot 2.0 system that will be introduced in the new “Reaper of Souls” expansion pack will have a “more rewarding” game experience. And judging by the 2400 or so comments the announcement has received on Blizzard’s blog, it appears the Diablo III gamers agree, too.
(Source: Blizzard)
