‘Final Fantasy 14’ suspends housing demolition due to Turkey-Syria earthquake

Square Enix has announced that automatic housing demolition in Final Fantasy 14 has been suspended, following an earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on Monday (February 6).

The death toll for Monday’s earthquake currently sits at 22,765, and humanitarian efforts are currently underway to rescue survivors from debris and deliver aid to those who have lost their homes.

Following the disaster, Square Enix has confirmed that Final Fantasy 14 players will not need to worry about automatically losing their in-game estates if they don’t remain active.

“From all of us on the Final Fantasy 14 development and management team, our hearts go out to those who were affected by the massive earthquake,” shared Square Enix.

“Due to the damages and other factors, we have decided to temporarily suspend the automatic demolition of estates,” the blog continued. “The timer has been stopped again after a short period in light of the damage and circumstances of the people affected by the disaster. We ask for your consideration and understanding.”

Notices : EU: Temporary Suspension of Automatic Housing Demolition https://t.co/VAS1ddHj8L #FFXIV

— FINAL FANTASY XIV News (@FFXIV_NEWS_EN) February 9, 2023

The timer was suspended last night, and remains in effect for all Chaos and Light data centre worlds. Square Enix has explained that it will “monitor the situation in the coming days” and make an announcement when it decides that auto-demolition can resume.

“It is our sincere hope that recovery is swift, and those of you who were affected will be able to rejoin us in Eorzea soon,” the studio added.

The last time that Square Enix suspended in-game housing demolition for Final Fantasy 14 was during the early months of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

On Tuesday (February 14), The Big Pink and The WAEVE will be performing a special charity gig in London, organised by humanitarian aid group Choose Love.

The gig will take place at The Jazz Cafe in London, and will also feature DJ sets from Nabihah Iqbal, Nadine Shah, Swim Deep, and Lou Hayter. All profits raised will go directly to Choose Love.