Square Enix has decided to indefinitely postpone the automatic demolition of inactive estates in Final Fantasy XIV. The process was scheduled to go back into effect on March 9. Instead, given current world events, the FFXIV team has decided to wait on those plans.
“We had originally planned to recommence the currently suspended auto-demolition counter on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. However, considering the current world situation, we have decided to keep the counter suspended,” read the official statement on The Lodestone this morning. “As for when auto-demolition will resume, we will monitor the situation in the coming days, and inform you all when we have come to a decision that auto-demolition can commence again.”
Under normal circumstances, the process is intended to free up housing plots that aren’t actively being used by existing players. If an individual player or Free Company member hasn’t entered their lot within 45 days, the estate on that lot is demolished and returned to the pool of open housing lots. Square Enix not only notifies players of scheduled demolition via email, players also get an in-game notification if they haven’t entered their estate in 30 days.
Notices : NA: Regarding Automatic Housing Demolition https://t.co/MqWqhnqvPF #FFXIV
— FINAL FANTASY XIV News (@FFXIV_NEWS_EN) March 3, 2022
The timer begins from the last time you entered your lot. Those who have entered their lot since the suspension will see their counter resets whenever the automatic demolition process resumes. Those who have not entered their estates will see the countdown timer pick up from where it left off.
The process was originally turned off during the launch of Endwalker. The server issues around launch made it difficult for players to log in, so the FFXIV team decided it was best to table automatic demolition. It’s not the first time the process has been halted.
This time around, “the current world situation” is likely the invasion of Ukraine, though Square Enix does not directly say as much. The conflict has displaced many Ukrainian citizens from their homes, in addition to expatriates like FFXIV content creator Zepla HQ. A number of players in the FFXIV community have taken to fundraising for Ukrainian folks in need via the FFXIV Peace Drive.
