20 Disastrous Gaming Launches Everyone Saw Coming
3. Diablo III
As excited as millions of players were for the long-gestating Diablo III, there was also a healthy amount of skepticism surrounding its launch for two reasons.
First and foremost, Blizzard decided to make the original PC version of the game always-online, ensuring players were left at the mercy of the publisher's servers.
And then there was the announcement that Diablo III would feature two auction houses - one allowing the purchase of items with in-game gold, the other with real-world money.
Many players were intensely skeptical of these business decisions, and lo and behold, their doubts were proved to be well-founded once the game launched.
Though Diablo III was well-received by critics playing within a controlled environment, server issues crippled the game on launch for general players, the infamous "error 37" locking many out from playing at all.
And though the real money auction house didn't open until a month later, its pay-to-win nature left some feeling that it took the satisfaction out of the loot grind.
While the real money auction house was shut down less than two years after the game's release and the server issues eventually abated, Diablo III's vitriolic launch remains a core memory of the game for many.
And more to the point, even in 2025 there's still no easy, legal way to play the game offline on PC.