Blizzard changes security measures in preparation for Diablo III real-money auction house

Blizzard has announced that in preparation for the launch of the Diablo III real-money auction house, it has made some changes to account-security measures required to use Battle.net Balance.

In a post detailing the changes on Battle.net, Blizzard said updates will be made to the Terms of Use available the website, and when the real-money auction house goes live, all players will be asked to re-read and accept the changes the next time they play Diablo III.

The firm has also made adjustments to "how players can use and access their Battle.net Balance."

"Starting today, in order to add to your Battle.net Balance, players will be required to have a Battle.net Authenticator or Battle.net Mobile Authenticator attached to their Battle.net account," said the firm.

"For clarity, this means you’ll need to have an Authenticator to add to your balance via Battle.net Account Management or to send the proceeds of your real-money auction house sales to your Battle.net Balance.

"Please note that players who previously added Battle.net Balance to their account prior to this change will be able to use it to make eligible purchases on Battle.net and in the auction house without attaching an Authenticator. However, an Authenticator will be required to add to your balance in the future, as explained above."

Blizzard said it realizes the addition "crates an extra step for players during the login process," it feels the added layer of account protection will "foster a safer auction house environment," for all players.

Still no date on when the real-money auction house will go live.