Blizzard to Shut Down Diablo III Auction Houses Next Year

...yeap.

In a post on the Diablo III website, Production Director John Hight said that while the main objective  of the Gold and Real Money Auction Houses, "was to provide a convenient and secure system for trades," it went against what the core of the game was supposed to be: kill demons, get paid. Or loot. You know what I mean.

"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. With that in mind, we want to let everyone know that we've decided to remove the gold and real-money auction house system from Diablo III."

                          - John Hight

There you have it. Not much more needs to be said, but good on Blizzard to listen to the fans. Interesting is that the shutdown is scheduled to occur on March 18th of next year, which is when the new Reaper of Souls expansion is rumored to hit the game. Additionally, the Loot 2.0 patch is coming, which is said to improve drop quality. The studio has said that they'll keep gamers informed throughout the process of removing the auction houses.

-- Blizzard via Destructoid