Blizzard Entertainment, the creators of the successful MMORPG World of Warcraft, have confirmed that the eagerly anticipated sequel to the highly popular Diablo II will be starting closed beta later this month giving players the first real taste of Diablo III. A recent interview with Blizzard CEO, Mike Morhaime, confirmed the beta for this month despite the announcement intending to be private. Several sources leaked the information as well as some screenshots and a video. Most of the media was already available on the internet but fans are sure to be delighted at the news of a closed beta.

The game has a huge following and hype has been building since the game was confirmed to be in development some years ago, however industry experts have criticized Blizzard for their approach to preventing gold farmers by implementing a real-money item system. Items that players find and create in Diablo III will be able to be sold in an Auction House type system for either in game currency or real cash, a unique approach that is practically unheard of in AAA titles.

We expect an exact date to be announced within the next week or two.