Without any clear indication of exactly how busy the servers were or the time D2R Items would take to fix the issue, users were left in an impasse. They didn't know when to wait or check back later or just give up. Director of the game Josh Mosqueira later said that the launch was just much larger than any staff member was expecting, even after double and after that tripling the projections. novel Blood, Sweat, and Pixels by Jason Schreier.

This was especially galling due to the game's online-only requirement. While Diablo does have an online multiplayer feature but you can play the entire game by yourself when you'd like to. There's absolutely no reason why players shouldn't be able to just fight through the game alone, regardless of whether servers were up and running or not.

However, playing offline, as was possible in the initial two games, was not an option. As such, eager players were unable to make any progress at all while Blizzard worked out the server problems. This issue was not in a complete shock: prior to the game's release, and based upon the beta playable players were already concerned with the always-online requirement.

"Right now in the current state it's in, it's a fundamentally flawed product" John Walker wrote John Walker for RPS. "A single-player game which doesn't slow down, and if do not quit the game, it will automatically boot you out and cancel your progress."

But Blizzard stayed the course and the launch disaster was the final blow. To add to the frustration the always-online requirement seemed to be linked to another online function, one that was the most crucial to the game's woes during its early years.

The Auction House

Blizzard had a problem. In the previous Diablo 2 Resurrected buy items game, the capability to trade items had led to the possibility of a black market for loot. Fans looking for the latest gear were willing to payfor it, leaving the door open to untrustworthy third-party suppliers and price-fixing. Blizzard recognized the dangers of an unregulated, unofficial marketplace for Diablo items, and thought it could be better off by creating a legitimate, licensed one.