Square Enix Takes a Stand Against Final Myth 14 Stalking Mod, Promises Legal Action
Producer/director Naoki Yoshida asserts that it cannot be acceptable to retrieve address or payment details
Naoki Yoshida, the producer and director of Final Fantasy 14, has addressed players directly, denouncing the “Playerscope” modification that is accused of tracking players without their permission.
In a statement, Yoshida acknowledged the presence of “third-party tools that are being utilized to access [Final Fantasy] 14 character information that isn’t shown during standard gameplay,” conceding that it is also concerning to reveal a portion of an 14 character’s internal story ID, which could then be leveraged in an attempt to further connect data on other characters within the same narrative.
According to IGN, the best way to avoid having your data collected is to join the mod’s private Discord channel.
In reaction, Square Enix’s development and operations teams have requested the removal of the mod and the deletion of its information from public mod repositories—this has reportedly been completed, although it may still be shared in private—and they are now pursuing legal action against the creator(s).
“Apart from character information that can be accessed in-game and on the Lodestone, we have received worries that personal data linked to a user’s Square Enix account, such as address and billing information, might also be exposed through this tool,” Yoshida elaborated.