Square Enix has suspended housing dismantling operations for Final Fantasy 14 following the earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula on New Year's Day. The 7.6-magnitude quake has left thousands of people without power and living in evacuation centers.

The scale of the disaster is not yet known, but the BBC reports that at least 80 people have been confirmed dead. This number is likely to rise in the coming days, as search and rescue is difficult after major infrastructure has collapsed; Sky reports that at least 33,000 people have been forced to evacuate, with many of the hardest hit areas "inaccessible" due to destroyed roads. Authorities also stated that approximately 100,000 homes have no water supply.

As for what this means for players: In FF14's player housing system, a limited number of wards exist on each server, and in order to keep them open to new players who wish to purchase virtual real estate, if a player has not visited the ward within 45 days If the player does not visit the ward within 45 days, the player house will be removed.

However, Square Enix often suspends this restriction in extraordinary circumstances or real world tragedies where it is unreasonable to expect a player to log in due to loss of power, economic hardship, or property damage.

Similar measures were taken during last year's Turkey-Syria earthquake. The demolition of homes was also suspended during the Covid 19 pandemic and extended during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The company's statement reads: "The entire FFXIV development and operations team extends its deepest sympathies to all those affected by the major earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula on Monday, January 1." Timers will be down at the Elemental, Gaia, Mana, and Meteor data centers, i.e. all data centers serving Japan.

As for when the suspension will be lifted, "We will monitor the situation for the next few days and will inform everyone once we determine that we can resume automated dismantling. ...... We sincerely hope for a speedy recovery and that everyone affected will be able to return to FFXIV soon."