Widespread Final Fantasy 14 mod taken offline after its creator added malicious code

Final Fantasy 14
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 14 modders have now taken their mod offline after being widely criticized for adding malicious code earlier this month.

Over the past weekend, the Final Fantasy 14 community turned on the creators of the GShade mod, after one of the creators admitted to adding code that could turn off a user's PC at will. Now, a Reddit user has noticed that the entire GShade mod has been taken offline over at Github.

This means the GShade mod is basically gone for good from Final Fantasy 14. The criticisms of the modding team adding the potentially harmful code to the mod, without telling anyone, was widely criticized by Final Fantasy 14's community on PC for days on end, and for good reason.

With GShade having been taken down from Github, it's recommended anyone currently using the mod should back up their shaders and presets if they move over to the ReShade mod. This mod performs the same feature as Gshade - giving Final Fantasy 14's textures a boost - but without the malicious code, meaning it quickly emerged as a popular alternative earlier this week.

It's worth noting no one's particularly surprised GShade has been taken offline. The latest twist in the "clown show" was a predictable one to many users, while some are still surprised and upset at how controlling the developers of the GShade mod were about the entire situation. 

No one's particularly happy about the whole situation, but it's a relief an alternate to GShade exists for the Final Fantasy 14 community to turn to in these times. 

Oh, and no one's happy with Final Fantasy 14's housing, if you're wondering how the latest round of housing lotteries went. 

CATEGORIES
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

Read more
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail screenshot featuring character Y'shtola Rhul, a Miqo'te woman with white hair framing her face and cat-like ears
Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail helped players block stalkers, but the problem might get much worse with a backend exploit some mods are already taking advantage of
Final Fantasy 14 patch 6.4 The Dark Throne
As the Final Fantasy 14 devs "continue to take a firm stance" against mods that can enable harassment, Yoshi-P says improvements are starting in patch 7.2
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Aerith and Tifa suited
"There are mods that could shock some players": Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth director agrees mods "breathe life" into games like Fallout and Skyrim, but says please keep it clean
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth Aerith and Tifa suited
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth lead asks thirsty PC players to not make "inappropriate" mods after FF16's Clive got swiftly unrobed
Daggerfall Unity
Controversial version of Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall's fan remaster delisted from GOG, storefront says it "no longer fulfills its purpose of providing a hassle-free modded experience"
GTA 4
A month after the GTA 5 mod recreating GTA 4 was shut down, its modders are now "uncertain if this takedown request is genuine"
Latest in Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy 14 Dawntrail Futures Unwritten Ultimate raid
As Final Fantasy 14 raiders tear through the MMO's hardest duty with no healers and then no tanks, the community can only see this going one way: "Now it's time to clear without DPS"
Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail cinematic screenshot showing Alphinaud Leveilleur, an Elezen boy with short white hair
Final Fantasy 14's funniest speedrunning beef continues as runner who lost a world record to its original champ in just 1 day returns, beats record, is promptly dethroned again
Final Fantasy 7
Sony finally managed to pry Final Fantasy 7 away from Nintendo thanks to a "schmoozer" of a former employee who hung out with Square Enix executives at his parties, according to one former PlayStation boss
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition
Square Enix kills Final Fantasy game's mobile version after being unable to "completely fix" a bug stopping fans from accessing their additional paid content
Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster
Final Fantasy creator says the original JRPG's programmer was "like a god" to him: "I still strongly feel that the core program itself is the ‘life’ of a game"
Final Fantasy 14 producer Yoshi-P interview's the series' founding father Hironobu Sakaguchi
After 3 years of playing Final Fantasy 14 "almost every single day," series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi reckons the MMO "might be the game that I've played the most in my life"
Latest in News
Overwatch 2
My hopes for an Overwatch anime or Diablo horror movie are going strong as Blizzard president points out "we are Blizzard Entertainment, and not simply Blizzard Games"
The New Thunderbolts leaping into action
Marvel's New Thunderbolts* comic steals the MCU's asterisk, and the reason why is just as big of a mystery
Pokemon Go players brace for the worst as Niantic is sold off for $3.5 billion: "This game is entering its death knell"
Stamp PSP
A 16-year-old pitch for a newly discovered first-party PSP game has me mourning the death of PlayStation's Japan Studio all over again
Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor Neil Newbon says he "got rid of" agents who deliberately kept him away from video game gigs: "They just didn't want me to do it"
Mass Effect
Jennifer Hale says she didn't see a single line as Mass Effect's Commander Shepard until it was time to record: "It was all cold reading on the spot"