How the Diablo 3 Real Money Auction House Works

Blizzard is breaking grounds by introducing a real-world currency auction house in Diablo 3. That is, players will be able to sell weapons, armor, and runes they obtain in the Diablo 3 game for real-world currency (e.g. U.S. dollar, euro).

Moreover, in-game gold and even characters will be eventually sold for real-world currency, according to Daily Tech. The real-world currency auction house will exist alongside the in-game gold auction house. However, if in-game gold could be bought with real cash, the real-world currency auction house would influence the in-game gold auction house.

Blizzard said it will not separate out a gaming community that is free from real currency auction houses and their influences.

Players can access the real-world currency auction house from anywhere in the game. To sell, the player simply sets a price. Then, the item will either be sold or the listing will expire. To buy, players can simply match the listed prices.

The seller will be billed for both listing the item and selling the item. Blizzard claimed that requiring a price for listing will prevent mass listings and low quality listings (i.e. prices that are far off the prevailing market value).

The company said its real-world currency auction house is not primarily meant as a revenues generator. Instead, it’s meant to centralize and facilitate an activity – the selling of virtual items for real-world cash – that players used to do anyway in a cumbersome and sometimes dangerous way.

The real-world currency credited to players can be used to for real-world currency auctions within Diablo 3 or for any other real-world currency transactions related to Battle.net (e.g. World of Warcraft subscriptions).

They can also be deposited into players’ money accounts in the real-world.