Final Fantasy XIV Director Clarifies Problematic Mods Policy After Popular Mod Shut Down

Naoki Yoshida, the game director for Final Fantasy XIV, has addressed the game’s policy regarding mods in a detailed statement. This clarification comes after the shutdown of “Mare Synchronos,” a popular mod that facilitated the sharing of custom visuals and animations among its users. The mod, reportedly used by 130,000 active players in the 30 days before its closure, was taken offline following a “legal inquiry.”

Yoshida explained that the use of mods affecting only a player’s own visuals and gameplay is generally tolerated, as it’s considered personal use without negatively impacting others. He provided the example of a player using a mod to display an ultimate weapon, typically obtained through challenging raids. While the player would see their character with the weapon, other players would only see the regular weapon. However, the “Mare Synchronos” mod enabled players to create a shared, synced mod experience, allowing users to display items they hadn’t earned to other mod users. This, according to Yoshida, creates an unfair advantage.

Furthermore, the director noted that shared mods like “Mare Synchronos” directly impact game monetization, as players could obtain custom emotes and animations through modding instead of purchasing them from the in-game cash shop.

Erotic roleplaying (ERP) mods were also subtly addressed:

Let’s consider another theoretical mod: one that displays your character entirely naked. If this presentation is displayed only on the user’s screen, that might fall into the category of personal use and responsibility. (Bear in mind that this is my personal interpretation, and not a discussion of whether that behavior is right or wrong.) However, if the user posts a screenshot of their naked character publicly on social media, FFXIV itself may be subject to legal measures by regulators in certain countries. –Excerpt (full post)

This “theoretical” mod isn’t so theoretical. A significant portion of the Final Fantasy XIV community engages in ERP, supported by numerous mods that provide custom animations and visual enhancements.

While not explicitly banned, Yoshida presented such mods as problematic due to potential legal issues for the company, suggesting that they could be disallowed in the future.

This announcement is likely to generate significant backlash from the Final Fantasy XIV community. While the policy won’t affect raiders using DPS trackers, it will heavily impact roleplayers, particularly those involved in ERP, who rely on shared modded experiences. The official cash shop currently lacks the type of emotes and customizations these players seek.

In my opinion, this is a shortsighted bad policy that will likely hurt subscriber numbers and engagement. While the intention may be to drive more sales in the cash shop, the shop’s offerings are currently insufficient. While most players likely don’t use these kinds of mods, a very active minority of players exclusively play Final Fantasy XIV because of the modding scene. For these players, the loss of shared experience mods like Mare Synchronos might be a deal-breaker.

Further reading: Official post