As wildfires continue to wreak havoc around Los Angeles, the team behind Final Fantasy 14 has chosen to put a temporary hold on automatically demolishing player housing on North American servers. This decision ensures that players dealing with the disaster won’t face the added worry of losing their virtual homes due to an inability to log into the game.
On January 9th, at 8:20 p.m. PT, the developers paused the auto-demolition timer for the Aether, Crystal, Dynamis, and Primal data centers. They plan to keep a close eye on how the situation unfolds in Southern California before deciding when to restart it. Normally, players might lose their in-game homes if they don’t visit their property within 45 days, given the community’s high demand for these digital spaces.
Square Enix, the game’s publisher, expressed their thoughts in a message that reflected their empathy: “All of us on the Final Fantasy 14 development and management team have our thoughts with those impacted by the wildfires around Los Angeles. We sincerely hope for a quick recovery and hope you’ll be able to join us again in FF14 soon.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, the wildfires have had devastating effects. At least 10 people have lost their lives, over 100,000 residents have been evacuated, 9,000 structures have been destroyed, and tens of thousands of acres have been scorched. If you’re looking to help those affected, the LA Times has compiled a list of organizations accepting donations, which can be found on their website.
