Final Fantasy 14 mod developer admits to adding potentially harmful malware to GShade tool

The developer of a Final Fantasy 14 mod has been criticized for intentionally adding potentially harmful malware to the code that forces the computer to shut down.

All third-party tools are in violation of the MMORPG’s Terms of Service – in fact, just last week director and producer Naoki Yoshida said he was “extremely disappointed” with the use of mods.

However, GShade is a popular mod to change the aesthetics of the game without affecting the gameplay.

Leaked Discord messages by GShade developer Marot Satil reveal malware was intentionally injected into the mod code that could force a computer shutdown if GShade files are accessed by a third-party application, reports gamerant (above The player).

The malware was apparently added to teach a lesson about using mods. “This should be a lesson to you specifically about this approach to the problem; anything could have been included in the payload and you would have been responsible for distributing it to humans and triggering it,” the direct message reads.

Players were in an uproar after the news. Marot Satil was reportedly banned from a popular Final Fantasy 14 Discord, and a statement on the game’s subreddit specifically credited GShade.

“Unfortunately, after reviewing the changes made to their program by the developer of GShade, we will no longer support the tool as a community resource and its links have been removed from our server,” the statement reads.

An investigation by Github has resulted in GShade being removed from the hosting service.

While Yoshida’s comments last week were aimed specifically at those looking for a world first with no new content, this GShade controversy is another reason third-party tools shouldn’t be used with the game – you never know what malware might be included.

An official Final Fantasy 14 visual upgrade is due in Patch 7.0. Test recordings were shown in a live stream last February.