Final Fantasy 14’s Gshade mod has been reported to deliberately include malware, and its creator, Marot, said it was meant to be a teachable moment for other modders.
Gshade allows users great control over the visual effects of Final Fantasy 14. Some colorblind players even use it to help them adjust lighting and UI controls.
However, it has now been reported (via GameRant) that Gshade contains malware capable of restarting a user’s PC.
Apparently Marot said to another modder that the inclusion of the malware was “intended as a lesson”.
“Anything could have been in the payload and you would have been responsible for distributing it to people and releasing it,” he continued. He went on to explain that it was impossible to trigger a shutdown if Gshade was used as intended.
“I chose a reboot specifically because I wanted something that would still be completely harmless, but slightly more noticeable than a quick process death,” he added. “Think of it like what anti-cheat software does when something particularly bad happens.”
After the reveal, Gshade was trending on Twitter and the mod No longer supported by the official Final Fantasy 14 subreddit. The mod has also been temporarily removed from Github pending an investigation, while Marot has been banned from at least one modding Discord.
Some Gshade users find it difficult to remove the mod from their PC, and others had to create to guide on how to get rid of malware.
All player-creating mods are banned in Final Fantasy 14, and producer/director Naoki Yoshida recently shared a lengthy post about their use.
“The Final Fantasy 14 Terms of Service state that the use of third party tools is strictly prohibited. This has always been the case and will continue to be,” he wrote after it was reported. that the first team to defeat the new boss The Omega Protocol (Ultimate) was using various mods.
“I personally find it very disappointing to see this hype around third-party tools again,” he added. “If the presumption is that this content will be processed and erased using third-party tools, then any reason to develop high-difficulty combat content seems lost.”
In other news, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick says blocking Microsoft’s takeover of the publisher would be a blow to the UK’s aim to become a tech superpower.