Final Fantasy XIV Halts Automatic Housing Teardowns

Final Fantasy XIV Suspends Housing Demolitions Due to California Wildfires

Square Enix has temporarily halted the automatic demolition of player housing in Final Fantasy XIV on North American servers. This action, affecting players on the Aether, Primal, Crystal, and Dynamis data centers, comes in response to the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles. The company will announce a resumption date once the situation is assessed.

The automatic demolition system, designed to free up housing plots after 45 days of inactivity, is typically paused during significant real-world events. This ensures players impacted by circumstances beyond their control, such as natural disasters, don't lose their virtual homes. While the system was recently reactivated, the severity of the wildfires prompted this immediate suspension. The previous pause, ending January 8th, was attributed to the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

This latest suspension began on January 9th and applies solely to the aforementioned data centers. Players can still reset their demolition timers to the full 45 days by logging into their homes.

The impact of the wildfires extends beyond the game. The popular web series, Critical Role, postponed a major event, and an NFL playoff game was relocated. Square Enix expressed sympathy for those affected and will provide updates regarding the resumption of the automatic demolition timers. The unexpected pause adds to a busy start to 2025 for Final Fantasy XIV players, following the recent return of a free login campaign. The duration of this latest suspension remains undetermined.

Image: Screenshot illustrating the Final Fantasy XIV housing demolition announcement (Note: This image placeholder is used as the original image URLs were not provided in the context.)