10 Video Games That Removed Important Features AFTER RELEASE
6. The Auction House - Diablo III
Diablo III was largely well-received by critics, but general players had some serious misgivings about Blizzard's decision to include two auction houses in the game.
One auction house allowed players to purchase game items with gold they'd acquired during gameplay, and another was added a month after release which allowed players to buy wares with real money.
Blizzard came under intense fire from their own fanbase for creating an in-game economy built on pay-to-win mechanics, in turn diluting the sense of satisfaction that comes with obtaining weapons and items organically.
Though Blizzard claimed that they added the auction houses to Diablo III to combat illicit item trading outside of the game, the overwhelming consensus was that the auction houses were net-negative to the overall experience.
Ultimately Blizzard's own director even went on to agree that the auction houses were a misguided concept, and they were eventually shut down in March 2014, less than two years after the game's launch.
It's only at this point that Diablo III really came into its own and general player reception on the game enjoyed a significant turnaround - also aided by some much-needed balancing and loot-based gameplay fixes.
While the auction houses were clearly a major facet of Diablo III from a business perspective, it's painfully clear in retrospect that they never should've been included at all.
Thankfully Blizzard evidently learned their lesson, as Diablo IV launched without any such nonsense.