Summary
On theFinal Fantasy 14forums, game producer and director Naoki Yoshida stated that Square Enix may take legal action against the author of the controversial PlayerScope mod. Yoshida also reiterated the company’s stance against using mods to playFinal Fantasy 14and said the development and operations teams remain aware of the situation.
Final Fantasy 14players voiced concerns over the PlayerScope modin early January. The mod in question used the AccountID information in the game’s client-side folders to give users access to information about another player without the target’s consent, such as their main and alternate characters, retainers, and other bits of data that are not usually available for other players to see. This led to concerns that it could be used to stalk and harass other players. However, the game’s terms of service strictly prohibit using any mods or third-party tools withinFinal Fantasy 14. SinceFinal Fantasy 14does not use any anti-cheat clients to deter mod usage, Square Enix relies on player reports and visual proof as evidence to take action against any offenders.
AlthoughFinal Fantasy 14is no stranger to controversial mod usage, the latest incident prompted a direct response from Yoshida. TheFinal Fantasy 14producer and director releaseda statement on the game’s forums, and stated that the company has confirmed PlayerScope’s existence, and acknowledged its intended usage. Yoshida said that the development and operations teams are considering legal action against PlayerScope’s author and requesting that further distribution of PlayerScope be removed and deleted. Following initial reports about PlayerScope, the mod has been removed from sites such as GitHub and Gittea due to mass reports from users. However, it is possible that the problematic mod could still be distributed elsewhere.
Final Fantasy 14 Addresses PlayerScope Mod Controversy
Yoshida also assured players that account information, such as addresses and payment information, cannot be exposed via client-side mods like PlayerScope. He closed his statement by reiterating thatFinal Fantasy 14will continue to oppose mod usage that threatens players' safety. Yoshida’s stance is consistent with past statements, including ones madefollowing the release of The Omega Protocol (Ultimate) raidin early 2023.
Square Enix punished the offending raiders and stripped them of their world-first honors after video evidence was posted of one player using a mod to make the camera pan out farther than intended, thereby trivializing the fight. ThoughFinal Fantasy 14is gearing up to release Patch 7.2in the coming months, it remains to be seen what further changes Square Enix will make to improve player safety following the PlayerScope incident.
Final Fantasy 14
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