Blizzard has announced that PayPal will be the official service partner for Diablo III's auction house system in most regions of the world. As an added benefit of the deal, PayPal will soon become an accepted payment method for purchasing content and subscriptions on the company's Battle.net service.
While Blizzard first revealed the Diablo III auction house back in August, many fans were less than pleased with the decision, feeling that allowing the sale of in-game items for real world currency would effectively allow players to pay their way to success. Our own Ian Miles Cheong wrote an editorial defending the system, pointing out that Blizzard is merely making an already commonplace practice safer and easier for everyone involved. Partnering with an established service like PayPal should help Blizzard to further ensure that the Diablo III auction system stays fair and streamlined.
Diablo III currently has no firm release date, though a 2012 PC launch seems increasingly likely. A public beta is expected soon, with a closed beta currently underway for friends and family of Blizzard employees.
