Diablo III‘s Auction House Has Now Officially Shut Down

Players have until June 24 to collect their completed auctions out of Diablo III‘s Auction House tab.

Last year, Blizzard said it would shut down Diablo III‘s Auction Houses by April, 2014. Today, true to its word, both the gold and real money auction houses have come to a close. All auctions that were open at the time have been cancelled, leaving players until June 24 to collect their completed auctions from the game’s Auction House tab. If they fail to collect the items by this date, they will disappear forever.

The Auction House was controversial right from the game’s launch. Many players questioned it’s necessity, and lamented being caught in the “trap” of having to “play the AH” for hours on end to find gear upgrades. Blizzard initially vehemently defended the system, saying players needed a “safe place to trade items,” but eventually changed its tune as the Loot 2.0 patch neared completion.

“When we initially designed and implemented the auction houses, the driving goal was to provide a convenient and secure system for trades. But as we’ve mentioned on different occasions, it became increasingly clear that despite the benefits of the AH system and the fact that many players around the world use it, it ultimately undermines Diablo‘s core game play: kill monsters to get cool loot,” Diablo III Production Director John Hight said when the shutdown was announced.

Now that Loot 2.0 is here, bringing with it “smart loot” and bind-on-account legendaries, the Auction House has been rendered completely unnecessary. It’s certainly a lot more fun slaying demons and finding an upgrade, rather than desperately trying to snipe auctions to buy one.