Square Enix announced on March 25 that the CERO rating for the Japanese version of Final Fantasy XIV will be changed from CERO C (Ages 15 and up) to CERO D (Ages 17 and up), starting with the upcoming Patch 7.5 update. The decision comes as a way to prevent imposing restrictions on the game’s Group Pose feature, and maintain its current level of freedom. Note that this only constitutes a change of rating, meaning that no content in the game will be altered.
According to the company, keeping the game rated CERO C (according to current standards) would require them to make certain changes to its content, “restricting” a portion of the Group Pose feature. Currently, Final Fantasy XIV’s Group Pose feature offers a high degree of freedom, and one could argue that by using certain outfits and emotes, those creative enough can even make scenes that can be considered “suggestive.”
While Square Enix didn’t explicitly confirm what elements of Group Poses were judged “problematic” by CERO, it took the rather unusual step of pushing the rating to CERO D (thus narrowing down their target audience) in favor of keeping the feature as-is. To put things in perspective, this means Final Fantasy XIV will land in the same rank as Elden Ring, and many Yakuza and Resident Evil series titles.
These news was taken quite positively by fans, some of whom were quite surprised that Square Enix would opt for such a “player-friendly” move despite the very obvious downsides business-wise.. As one fan on X illustrates, “[…] They decided to put an MMO into the rank of more hardcore adult-oriented titles, simply to protect the players’ freedom of expression in taking photos. […] You can really see how big the developers’ love is for the player culture.” On the other hand, others pointed out that, because FFXIV is a game based on monthly subscriptions (which probably isn’t as appealing to those 16 and under) and its user base is mostly in the age range of 20~30, this shift in ratings might not be as dramatic of a business risk to Square Enix as one might assume.
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