Square Enix has issued bans to more than 5000 Final Fantasy 14 players in a crackdown against “illegal activities”, according to an official update. What does this mean? Well, over 5000 Final Fantasy 14 players have been caught – and banned – for using real-life money within the game.
The update was posted to the game’s official website, and reiterated rules regarding using real money within the game [via PCGamesN]. According to the update, “Real money trading (RMT) and other illicit activities upset the balance of the game and, as such, are prohibited under the Terms of Service”.
Over 5000 players have allegedly breached these rules and have been banned from the game as a result. The bans were initiated between 25th February and 3rd March in an attempt to curve certain behaviours in-game.
Square Enix also cemented its rules as part of the update, advising players of the following:
“Players who discover any confirmed cheats should, under no circumstances, exploit or disseminate such information. Instead, we ask that players file a report by using the in-game command [System Menu] -> [Support Desk] -> [Contact Us] -> [Report Cheating].
“In addition, any witnessed RMT advertisement can be reported by right clicking the character name in the chat log and selecting the menu [Report] -> [Report RMT Activity].
The report will be processed automatically, and if determined to fall under RMT advertising, the reported character’s comments will be restricted.”
There’s big money to be made in the realm of online gaming, especially when it comes to cheating. We recently saw the likes of Take-Two interactive take action against sites that assist players with cheating in GTA Online.
It’s easy to see why publishers would want to take action against cheaters, especially since they hamper the experiences of other players.
Square Enix rounded off its update with a stark warning to players, insisting that it will continue to take action:
“We will continue to take stringent disciplinary action against any accounts with confirmed involvement in RMT/illicit activity; players should take care to steer clear of any activity that violates the Terms of Service.”
Do you think Square Enix was right to issue bans over real-world trading in Final Fantasy 14?
The next expansion for Final Fantasy 14, titled Endwalker, is due out later this year for PC, Mac, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
Featured Image Credit: Square Enix