The modder behind Final Fantasy XIV’s problematic PlayerScope mod says he’s ‘permanently and irreversibly deleted’ its files

FAFO via a cease and desist letter

    
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Last January we reported on the existence of an extremely troubling mod developed for Final Fantasy XIV and known as PlayerScope, which effectively let gamers mine personal information about the accounts behind individual characters, such as their alt characters and Discord information. (MOP’s Eliot succinctly classed it as “the stalker engine.”) At the time, FFXIV director Naoki Yoshida said that Square Enix was considering legal action, while the devs made attempts to cut off its access to data – attempts that were quickly circumvented.

Now, however, it looks as if the stalker engine is actually done for, as PlayerScope’s creator shared a Discord message that announced that every file associated with the mod has been removed following a formal cease and desist notice, presumably from Square.

“I’ve made the decision to shut down the PlayerScope project and all of its supporting infrastructure,” reads the announcement. “The web backend has been taken offline. All stored data, including character and user records, have been permanently and irreversibly deleted. The plugin files have been completely removed from GitHub and GitFic, and have also been fully erased from my personal server.”

While many replies to the message celebrate the death of the stalker engine, there is some understandable skepticism, including concerns that someone has possibly rescued the deleted files or suggestions that the words of a person who literally made a tool that facilitated harassment maybe don’t hold water. But for now, it at least appears the legal threat was enough to spook this monstrosity into non-existence.

source: Reddit via Eurogamer
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