Today, Square Enix posted an extensive statement by Final Fantasy XIV Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida about the usage of fan-made mods for the game.
Yoshida-san’s statement is absolutely massive (almost 2,000 words) and expresses both his personal stance about mods and an explanation with theoretical examples on why Square Enix considers some specific mods problematic.
Interestingly, Square Enix appears to be very wary about the statement being misinterpreted or misquoted, so they ask us (the press) not to summarize or provide excerpts of it, which we’re going to respect, so you’ll have to read the full thing directly on the official Lodestone.
The timing for this statement is certainly not random. It comes after the company allegedly compelled the author of an extremely popular mod to halt its development and distribution.
The mod reportedly allowed players to share with others their characters’ modded appearance and counted tens of thousands of users. Obviously, its discontinuation sparked a certain amount of controversy among the community.
Incidentally, Yoshida-san also expresses satisfaction with yesterday’s announcement of the next fan festivals. Perhaps the most exciting part is that he mentions that we won’t have to wait long for what will come after Japan Fan Fest (which will end on November 1, 2026).
I hope Yoshida-san and Square Enix won’t mind me including this tidbit here, since it’s not part of the main topic of the statement and is pretty much a small bonus tease. I have to put something in this article, after all.
If I were a betting man, I’d put my money on the next expansion releasing very shortly after the fan festival, possibly even within 2026. While most Final Fantasy XIV expansions have been released in the summer, Endwalker was indeed launched in December 2021.
Yet, that’s just my personal speculation, so please take it with the customary grain of salt.
Final Fantasy XIV is currently available for PC, PS5, PS4, and Xbox Series X|S. It was recently updated to version 7.3, and you can check out the update’s trailer and plenty of details and gameplay footage of the new content.
Incidentally, Final Fantasy XIV is one of the pillars of Square Enix’s game lineup, with its recurring revenue making the MMO segment the most profitable among the publisher’s businesses.
