Another batch of Final Fantasy 14 players was banned for using real-world money in exchange for goods and services in the MMORPG game, and a smaller group was equally punished for trying.
In a news story, it is revealed that just over 5,000 players had their accounts closed at the open world game, representing the period between February 25th and March 3rd this year. This was due to the violation of the rules around the “real money trade and other illegal activities” that undermine the game economy and unbalance the balance.
Another 814 were closed for trying to participate in the above process, advertising or otherwise trying to create a business that involved real currency, instead of the gold that is used throughout the Final Fantasy series. Waves of prohibition like this for criminals are, unfortunately, regular. In 2019, more than 9,500 accounts were removed for real money transactions. In this case, several players were also kicked for using bots. While the RMT offenses continue, Square Enix appears to have restricted botting, to say the least.
The post contains information on how to report someone who is trying to exchange real money for something. Use the command line System Menu> Support> Contact Us> Report cheating. and players are encouraged to report and then ignore anything they find.
Fantasy 14’s next final expansion, Endwalker, was unveiled recently. It arrives sometime in the fall, and we talked to director Naoki Yoshida about why ending the ten-year history of The Realm Reborn is a necessary move.