Final Fantasy 14 Director Yoshi-P Threatens Legal Action Against 'Stalking' Mod

In early 2025, a Final Fantasy XIV mod ignited concerns about player stalking after reports surfaced detailing its ability to scrape hidden player data. This included sensitive information like character details, retainer information, linked alternate characters, and more.

The mod, "Playerscope," enabled users to track nearby players, transmitting their data to a central database controlled by the mod's author. This went beyond what in-game tools allow, accessing information like "Content ID" and "Account ID," which can be used to link players across multiple characters. This exploited the Content ID system introduced in the Dawntrail expansion, originally intended for player blacklisting across accounts and characters.

The only way to prevent data scraping was to join the Playerscope Discord and opt out—meaning, theoretically, every player outside this Discord was potentially having their data harvested. This significant privacy breach prompted outrage within the community; one Reddit commenter succinctly summarized the situation as "the purpose is obvious, to stalk people."

Weeks ago, the mod's author announced the plugin's appearance on Github, leading to a surge in popularity. Subsequently, due to Terms of Service violations, Playerscope was removed from Github, though it allegedly appeared on alternative platforms like Gittea and Gitflic. IGN verified its absence from these sites, but the mod could still circulate within private communities.

In response, Final Fantasy XIV producer and director Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida issued a statement on the game's official forum, directly addressing Playerscope. He acknowledged the existence of third-party tools accessing normally hidden character information, including parts of internal account IDs used to link accounts across characters. Yoshida stated that the development and operations teams are considering requesting the tool's removal and pursuing legal action. He reassured players that this tool could not access sensitive account information like addresses or payment details. He reiterated the prohibition of third-party tools in the Final Fantasy XIV User Agreement and urged players not to assist in their dissemination.

While tools like Advanced Combat Tracker are commonly used by the raiding community and integrated with sites like FFlogs, Yoshida's legal threat represents a significant escalation.

The FFXIV Community Responds

The community's response to Yoshida's statement was largely critical. One user pointed out the lack of consideration for fixing the game's vulnerabilities to prevent such mods. Another criticized the lack of proactive measures to prevent data exposure on the client-side, suggesting a lack of resources wasn't an acceptable excuse. A further comment described the statement as disappointing for failing to address the root cause of the problem. The author of Playerscope has yet to comment.