Diablo 3: Blizzard bans "Several thousand" players for using bots

Diablo 3 developer Blizzard has banned several thousand players for using bots, cheating and - it says - "Undermining the spirit of fair play." The announcement was made this morning, along with news that new tools that allow players to report foul play will be coming in the new year. Get Blizzard's statement on the matter below.

On the studio's forum, Blizzard community manager Lylirra issued the a statement on its wave of bans:

"We've recently issued account bans to several thousand Diablo III players who were found to be using botting programs while playing. In addition to undermining the spirit of fair play, botting, hacking, and other forms of cheating can also cause technical problems with the game as well as contribute to performance issues with the Battle.net service.

"As always, maintaining a stable, safe, and enjoyable online environment for legitimate players is very important to us, and we'll be continuing to keep watch on Battle.net and take action as needed.

"We will also be adding the ability for players to report this kind of behavior directly through the game client in a future patch."

The post also urges players to report instances of bots, cheating or hacking on the Diablo 3 forum, although the above statement has been met with criticism from players in the thread that follows it, with many players arguing that the move is too little, too late.

What is your experience of Diablo 3 security and fair play? It's unclear how many bans 'several thousand' equates to precisely but if true, this move does point to a potential lapse in security measures and moderation. Let us know what you think below.

Thanks Blue's News.