Trump’s Quantum Push Lifts IBM Stock as CEO Arvind Krishna Receives White House Praise 
OpenAI May Delay IPO to 2027 Amid $1 Trillion Valuation Goal 
Samsung and SK Hynix Shares Jump After Micron Earnings Boost AI Chip Optimism 
Apple Supplier Stocks Slide as Samsung, SK Hynix Lead Selloff After Apple Price Hikes 
WiseTech Global Denies Knowledge of Investigation Into Founder Richard White 
Kioxia Targets U.S. Listing as AI Chip Boom Accelerates 
OpenAI IPO Delay Weighs on SoftBank Shares as AI Valuation Concerns Grow 
Tencent Reviews Marvelous Stake as Gaming Giant Reassesses Global Investment Strategy 
Doncasters Raises $919 Million in NYSE IPO as Aerospace Growth Accelerates 
Alphabet Replaces Verizon in Dow Jones Industrial Average 
Samsung Electronics Stock Surges on Report of Massive $59 Billion Share Buyback Plan 
US Seizes Nearly 400 Illegal World Cup Streaming Domains in Global Anti-Piracy Crackdown 
Qualcomm Nears $4 Billion Acquisition of AI Chip Startup Modular 
Meta Pauses Employee Activity Tracking Program Over Data Security Concerns 
Micron Stock Surges on Strong AI Demand, Record Revenue, and Bullish Q4 Forecast 
Alibaba Shares Fall After Anthropic Alleges Massive AI Model Distillation Campaign 
Square Enix has been launching a wave of permanent ban penalties to “Final Fantasy 14” players found to engage in real money trading (RMT). With the latest round of bans announced in the first week of March, the number of accounts terminated rises to nearly 53,000.
Close to 53,000 ‘Final Fantasy 14’ lose accounts over RMT
The “Final Fantasy 14” developer has been quietly implementing the bans from late 2020 throughout the following weeks. In the latest announcement, Square Enix confirmed it terminated 5,037 accounts for participating in RMT and other “prohibited activities” from Feb. 25 to March 3. In the same period, 814 players were also permanently banned for advertising RMT.
Since mid-January, Square Enix has also been posting the same type of notices every week. The latest announcement, which was posted on March 4, was the eighth notice regarding RMT-related violations released this year.
‘Final Fantasy 14’: What is RMT and how to report it
RMT has, unfortunately, become common for games with microtransactions. As the name suggests, it means players are selling and buying in-game items, characters, and even cheat codes -- using real money -- to give them an advantage in “Final Fantasy 14.” In every notice, Square Enix has reiterated, “[RMT] and other illicit activities upset the balance of the game and, as such, are prohibited under the Terms of Service.”
“Final Fantasy 14” has a reporting system in place, but Square Enix has also put a specific prompt for placing complaints on accounts found engaging with RMT. The developers have also made it quite simple to report such activities, which also goes to show how this is how one of Square Enix’s top priorities in its anti-cheat measure. It can be done by right-clicking on the perpetrator’s character name in the chat log, select the Report menu option, and choose “Report RMT Activity.”
Well-intentioned players can also report other signs of cheating in “Final Fantasy 14.” They can do so by following this sequence: System Menu > Support Desk > Contact Us > Report Cheating. “We will continue to take stringent disciplinary action against any accounts with confirmed involvement in RMT/illicit activity,” Square Enix warns.
