Between February 25 and March 3, Square Enix took action against more than 5,000 Final Fantasy XIV players for engaging in or promoting real-money transactions in the game. A total of 5,851 accounts were banned during this period, with 5,037 directly involved in real-money trading and 814 acting as advertisers for the activity.
The developer emphasizes that all players agree to a user agreement before playing the game, which strictly prohibits any transactions involving real money. Square Enix now swiftly bans anyone attempting to use real money in the game.
This is not the first time Square Enix has banned thousands of players for violating user agreements. In 2019, over 10,000 accounts were blocked for similar infractions, with some players using bots to sell raids and dungeon clears to gain unfair advantages. Do you support cracking down on third-party services like these, or do you believe players should have the freedom to do as they please? Share your thoughts with fellow FFXIV fans and discuss below.
