Diablo III gets real-world auction house

Games developer Blizzard has revealed some more information on their highly-anticipated Diablo III, and fans will be in for a surprise.

For the PC version, the dreaded DRM will make another return, which will require PC gamers to be connected to a constant internet connection in order to play the game, even if they aren’t play multiplayer. It’s a high-contested move, but there is nothing that gamers can do about it.

The developer also revealed that the game will feature an in-game auction house, where players will be able to trade items using real money. When gamers pick up any of the random Diablo III items, these can be sold using real-world currency.

“The auction house, the first of its kind, will be exclusively for player-to-player trading; Blizzard will not sell items through it. The aim is to provide a secure and fun environment for a player-driven economy to develop around the game, which focuses on the acquisition of randomised loot,” Eurogamer wrote.

But for each transaction, Blizzard will naturally take a small fee for each item listed and sold and if players opt to cash-out their real currency through third-party payment provider such as PayPal.

Why Blizzard implemented this method, the game’s lead designer Jay Wilson said that it was purely a design decision. “It was definitely a design decision. Certainly there’s an economic element to the auction house for us, but it came first and foremost as: what do we want to do for the players? What service can we possibly offer that would make the game experience better?” he told Eurogamer.

With Blizzard’s nominal fee on transaction, they will surely make a buck out of it. “If we make money on it that’s great, we’re a business, we want to make money. But not at the expense of the customers – but because we’ve offered them something that was worth their money,” Wilson added.

Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor