The modder community in Final Fantasy XIV has grown significantly in recent months. It has gained popularity through the spread of screenshots on social media. However, Square Enix seems anything but happy about it, especially the nude mods disturb the developers.
Modding has become the norm in gaming for many titles nowadays. Games like Skyrim or Minecraft have huge communities that invest a lot of time and effort into producing high-quality mods.
Different companies and developers handle mods in various ways:
- Some companies support mods and make them an integral part of the game like Studio Wildcard in ARK Survival Evolved.
- Others tolerate them quietly
- Still, others try to suppress them, as RockStar briefly did with GTA V.
In Final Fantasy XIV, modding was for a long time a “subculture” that most players were unaware of. However, in recent months, the modder community has seen massive growth.
The Internet is for Porn
The crucial reason why mods are thriving seems to be the “Nude Mods.” For months now, screenshots of naked or nearly naked Final Fantasy XIV characters have been circulating on social media, attracting a lot of attention.
This includes the usual mods for female characters with adjustable breast sizes. But that’s not all.
Alternatively, male characters can also drop all coverings. Even futanari fans will get their share, as modders have managed to attach penises to female characters.
The nude mods are certainly not the only ones available on the “market”. Many modders are also busy redesigning existing outfits or other items.
For example, transparent clothes, tattoos, or the removal of unwanted clothing items, as well as color changes of companions and pets, are popular.
However, there are also modders who deal with the technical aspects of the game and produce mods that enhance textures of hair or eyes.
Legal, illegal, doesn’t matter?
Modding in FFXIV is by no means a legal gray area. In the subsection 2.6 of the Terms of Service, modifying the game’s code is explicitly prohibited.
Moreover, it also happens that modders gain access to items they are not supposed to have access to in the game.
This includes optional outfits from the Moogle Kiosk or those that are not yet accessible to anyone.
Since these items were implemented in the game a while ago, modders can find and “unlock” them for their characters, even if they do not have the permission to own them.
Like all other mods, however, the cosmetic items are only visible to the user.
First Trouble on the Horizon
The public distribution of screenshots of mods can also have consequences. A well-known FFXIV modder was allegedly warned by a GM (via Reddit).
He significantly contributed to the spread of mods in the community by posting screenshots of his character on Twitter.
The player was discovered because he included the link to his Twitter account in the search info of his character in the game. He posted screenshots of the conversation with the GM as evidence on his Twitter channel.
However, there is no concrete evidence that the screenshots of the conversation with the GM are actually real. Some users on Twitter and Reddit have claimed that the affected player faked the GM incident to gain attention.
The player himself insists that the screenshots are real and posted more that show his character in GM custody.
We have asked Square Enix whether this conversation actually took place. However, they informed us that SE cannot comment on the legitimacy of the screenshots as it would fall under customer information protection.
It would not be the first time that Square Enix has taken action against pornographic content originating from FFXIV. A precedent had already occurred a few months ago in the Japanese community.
At least 11 different players were contacted by the GM with a request to remove pornographic FFXIV content from their public social media channels that they had linked in their search info.
The Community Takes a Stand
The community’s reaction to the alleged warning is mixed. Some modders see themselves as victims and accuse SE of unfair treatment, while others say that the warned player is at fault for putting modding on display so openly everywhere despite breaking the rules.
The player “Kayoko Star” tweeted: “I am blown away that a SE GM decided to chase after a catgirl posting naked screenshots on Twitter instead of bots, RMTs, and hackers who are actually affecting the game.”
Regardless of how inconsistent SE is about handling punishment – it’s really dumb to knowingly break rules and then point fingers at other people who are “breaking worse rules and not getting in trouble”
— Denmo (@Mcstronghuge) April 27, 2018
The YouTuber Denmo McStronghuge, the player behind the FFXIV character Mr. Face, counters this by saying: “It is really dumb to deliberately break the rules and then point at others who are also ‘breaking the rules and not getting in trouble.'”
What impact this warning will have on the modding scene in FFXIV and whether more will follow cannot be said with certainty yet.
More on suggestive content in Final Fantasy XIV: Catgirls enjoy cybersex emotes in Final Fantasy XIV
