By: Connor Sheridan

Blizzard’s 1.03 patch limits digital purchasers to Starter Edition until payment is verified.

Gamers who pay to download Diablo III won’t have full access to the game for up to three days, thanks to tweaks made in the game’s latest patch. According to a post on Blizzard’s forums, Diablo III downloaders will only be able to play the Starter Edition of the game for up to 72 hours after purchase.

The Starter Edition for the PC dungeon crawler caps character levels at 13 and progress through the end of Act I. It also prohibits auction house access and multiplayer matchmaking with anyone who is not also using a Starter Edition or in the same region.

A customer support article on Blizzard’s site states the restrictions remain in place until payment verification is completed, a process which can take up to three days. The change was made Wednesday along with several other modifications in the game’s 1.03 patch.

“We apologize for the inconvenience, but it is a necessary step to combat fraud and other malicious activities that can weaken everyone’s play experience,” Blizzard Support Forum Agent Kaltonis said in a forum thread about the issue.

Source: GameSpot