You can't keep Moo Deng for yourself, so Final Fantasy 14 players are swarming the MMO's Hippo Calf minion instead – and even Square Enix has caught the fever

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Unbothered. Moisturized. Happy. In My Lane. Focused. Flourishing.

Final Fantasy 14 screenshot showing the Hippo Calf minion, it's mouth slightly open in a content pose as it stands against a green, grassy backdrop
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Love for little pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng is in the air, spreading all the way over to the Final Fantasy 14 community - and even to Square Enix itself.

It's no secret that Moo Deng has gone wildly viral since her birth at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand. She's reaching all corners of the web, including MMOs like Final Fantasy 14 where players are suddenly obsessed with the game's own Hippo Calf minion. Everyone has to have one - and while the market board's prices do indeed jump up and down over time, numbers for the semi-aquatic pet are soaring.

As one fan points out in a post online, the "power of Moo Deng" may very well have reached the in-game market. Just a few weeks ago, the Hippo Calf minion cost only 17,400 gil - but now, it sits at a pricey 300 thousand gil in some servers. Players are finding other, less official ways to bring Moo Deng into the MMO, too. Fan-crafted mods like the one showcased in this screenshot feature the adorable pygmy hippo.

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I don't mod my game much myself, but that sweater has me very tempted. The community isn't alone in its infatuation with all of the Moo Deng mania, either, as Square Enix is joining in on the hype train as well. One of the developer's more recent posts is a clip of the Hippo Calf minion opening its mouth wide as water splashes onto it - a cute reference to videos of Moo Deng circulating social media.

The caption is also just as perfect and pop culture-y as its accompanying clip: "Unbothered. Moisturized. Happy. In My Lane. Focused. Flourishing." As a Moo Deng and Final Fantasy 14 stan, I'm obsessed with how both the fandom and Square Enix are finding ways to pull the tiny hippo into the game. All I want now is a collaboration event with Moo Deng's zoo for an official in-game item, whether it be attire or a brand-new minion - as long as it's handled better than the Gong cha promo.

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Anna Koselke
Anna Koselke
Staff Writer

After spending years with her head in various fantastical realms' clouds, Anna studied English Literature and then Medieval History at the University of Edinburgh, going on to specialize in narrative design and video game journalism as a writer. She has written for various publications since her postgraduate studies, including Dexerto, Fanbyte, GameSpot, IGN, PCGamesN, and more. When she's not frantically trying to form words into coherent sentences, she's probably daydreaming about becoming a fairy druid and befriending every animal or she's spending a thousand (more) hours traversing the Underdark in Baldur's Gate 3. If you spot her away from her PC, you'll always find Anna with a fantasy book, a handheld video game console of some sort, and a Tamagotchi or two on hand.

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