Final Fantasy XIV Suspends Housing Demolitions Due to California Wildfires
Square Enix has temporarily halted the automatic demolition of player homes in Final Fantasy XIV on North American servers due to the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles. This affects players on the Aether, Primal, Crystal, and Dynamis data centers.
The suspension, implemented on January 9th, comes just one day after the company resumed the automatic demolition timers. These timers, typically set for up to 45 days, are designed to free up housing plots for inactive players or Free Companies. Players can prevent demolition by simply logging into their homes. However, Square Enix regularly pauses these timers in response to real-world events that might prevent players from accessing the game, such as natural disasters.
This latest pause follows a previous suspension related to Hurricane Helene's aftermath. While Square Enix will monitor the wildfire situation closely, no date has been set for the resumption of automatic demolitions. Players on affected data centers can continue to reset their timers by visiting their properties.
Key Impacts:
- Affected Servers: Aether, Primal, Crystal, and Dynamis data centers.
- Reason for Pause: Ongoing Los Angeles wildfires.
- Previous Pause: A prior moratorium ended just the day before, following Hurricane Helene.
- Future Updates: Square Enix will provide updates on when the automatic demolition timers will be reactivated.
The wildfires have had a wider impact, with events like the Critical Role campaign finale and an NFL playoff game being affected. The current pause on housing demolitions, coupled with the recent return of a free login campaign, marks a busy start to 2025 for Final Fantasy XIV players. The duration of this latest suspension remains uncertain.