The FFXIV devs suspended automatic housing demolition in December due to ongoing congestion issues following the launch of Endwalker, and it was scheduled to resume next week – but now they’ve pushed back demolition again, due to the “current world situation”.
“We had originally planned to recommence the currently suspended auto-demolition counter on Wednesday, March 9, 2022,” the devs say in an update. “However, considering the current world situation, we have decided to keep the counter suspended. As for when auto-demolition will resume, we will monitor the situation in the coming days, and inform you all when we have come to a decision that auto-demolition can commence again.”
There’s no specifics here, but the ‘situation’ referred to here is almost certainly the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The devs have been quite sensitive when real-world issues are likely to make it difficult for players to login. Housing demolition was previously suspended in 2020 due to the “economical effects of various cities going into lockdown” after the initial COVID-19 outbreak.
The FFXIV community has been especially sensitive to the situation in Ukraine, organising in-game demonstrations in support of the country, and of prominent steamer Jessica ‘Zepla’ St. John, who was among those forced to flee in the wake of the attacks.
You can help #Ukraine🇺🇦 NOW from anywhere in the world! RT/Share 🙏🧵@Ukraine official gov’t account requests donations direct to UA Bank for military 👇
& @BackAndAlive – they provide army training & supplies (check 2nd savelife link where it says https://t.co/8VX3YKwLq7) https://t.co/WvRG48i5dp— Zepla 🌙🐇🌱🇺🇦 (@Xepla) February 26, 2022
If you would like to support Ukraine yourself, you can additionally donate to organisations like UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, and Voices of Children at those links.