Blizzard has recently released number of controversial pieces of information about Diablo III to the press. The game will feature a real money auction house, require players to be online and connected to Battle.net at all times, and it will not allow mods.

The implementation of a real-money auction house doesn't come as a shock, considering the major illicit cash trade in items for Diablo II. This way, cash trades for items are legitimized and the items can be authenticated as genuine (i.e. not duped) by Battle.net. Blizzard will be receiving a cut of the action, though it apparently isn't expecting to make a large profit in this area. There will be a flat fee to place an auction in order to avoid having the auction house flooded by worthless items, and Blizzard will take a second flat fee from any successful sale.

In a statement certain to worry gamers without stellar Internet connections, Blizzard also announced that Diablo III will require players to be connected to Battle.net at all times, even when playing single-player. Blizzard stated that this requirement was to ensure that any character that enters into the multiplayer game is legitimate, but also admitted that piracy prevention entered the equation. Mods will also be forbidden for the game, which is a major departure from the robust game editor that came with Starcraft II.

For good or ill, these decisions are sure to have the gaming community buzzing for some time. There is still no announced release date for Diablo III, so there is still time for potential customers to move to a location with a stable online infrastructure.