Blizzard Entertainment has made good on their promise to shut down the much maligned auction house for their action RPG, Diablo 3.
The auction house closure, which was announced late last year, is a lead up to the release of Reaper of Souls next week. Blizzard explains that the auction house, though well intentioned and served as a convenient way to trade items, became a “double-edged sword”. Instead of playing the game and accumulating items normally, gamers took to the auction house to acquire weapons and gear necessary to remain competitive. Blizzard explained their rationale in a video, seen below.
With the closure of the auction house, players can still access gold and real-money auction houses through the Diablo 3 main menu but they will be unable to place bids or list new items. The feature is set to disappear completely in June.
An attached note from Blizzard on the menus reads, “The Auction House is shutting down. You must claim your items from the Completed tab by 6/24. Existing auctions will complete based on the time remaining.”