Final Fantasy 14 Mobile Sparks Controversy With New Paywall on Trading Features

Final Fantasy 14 Mobile has dropped a controversial mid-July update that puts a price tag on key in-game trading features — and fans are fired up. In a move to combat real-money trading (RMT) and illicit behavior, developers have now locked the market board, face-to-face trading, and company chest access behind a 30 yuan (~$4.18 USD) paywall.

The mobile version, developed by Tencent’s Lightspeed Studios in partnership with Square Enix, has already deviated heavily from its PC and console counterparts by streamlining combat and offering skip-pay microtransactions. But this latest update takes monetization a step further, requiring users to spend real money before unlocking basic economic systems again.

The change has been confirmed via a translated post from Bilibili, and first reported by longtime FF14 content creator MrHappy1227. On top of the trading restrictions, rewards from main story quests have been reduced — a double blow to free-to-play players.

While the move aims to curb RMT activity that has plagued the franchise for years, the backlash has been swift. Players are questioning whether this signals a “pay-to-trade” model going forward — especially as Final Fantasy 14 Mobile prepares for a broader international launch. Some fans have also raised flags over content glitches, including assets from later expansions like Shadowbringers and Endwalker showing up prematurely, hinting at deeper issues in the game’s world design.

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Let’s call it what it is — a bold experiment that could backfire fast. While Square Enix and Lightspeed are right to battle black market economies in FF14 Mobile, hitting legitimate players with a forced spending requirement just to access fundamental trading features feels like the wrong kind of solution. For now, it’s only in China — but with a Western release looming, this paywall will likely be one of the most watched (and debated) decisions in the mobile MMO space. MainEvent.News will be tracking every update as it unfolds.