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Diablo 4 suspends player trading indefinitely due to gold & item duplicate exploit

Players were allegedly making use of an exploit to create copies of items and gold, so Blizzard has put a stop to trading as it looks for a fix.

TJ Denzer

August 15, 2023 7:36 AM

Image via Blizzard Entertainment

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Diablo 4’s life as a live-service game continues to face unique issues in the franchise, with this week facing a problem in player trading. Apparently, there is a bug and exploit in Diablo 4 that was allowing players to duplicate gold and items through player trading. Blizzard Entertainment became aware of said bug and has now suspended player trading in Diablo 4 until it can find a fix. Those who were found to have exploited the system could face consequences if they knowingly took part in utilizing the exploit.

Diablo 4 senior community manager Rich Bantegui shared details about the exploit, its implications, and how Blizzard is addressing it in a recent community forums post.

“We’ve suspended player trading in Diablo IV until further notice due to a gold and item duplication exploit,” Bantegui wrote. “We are working on a fix to amend this issue and will update you once we’ve reinstated the ability to trade. Once that is done, we will continue to monitor this activity to ensure a healthy playing experience for all.”

One of the matters most affected by an exploit like this in Diablo 4 is that the game has an economy thanks to its live-service elements. Players can trade items and gold for situations like passing on a particularly strong piece of equipment for a class another player is using. Due to the recent exploit, that economy can be partially cheesed, which Bantegui says Blizzard will take action against for players that knowingly utilize the exploit.

“As always, any account that engages in gold and item duplication exploits will be actioned in accordance with our End User License Agreement,” Bantegui added.

It’s another issue in a game that has had many of them, with the last set of patch notes aiming to fix issues from the patch notes before. With player trading currently suspended for an unknown amount of time, stay tuned as we watch for updates to this story as they become available.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.