Widespread Final Fantasy 14 mod taken offline after its creator added malicious code

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GShade's creators didn't win any fans this week

Final Fantasy 14
(Image credit: Square Enix)

Final Fantasy 14 modders have now taken their mod offline after being widely criticized for adding malicious code earlier this month.

Over the past weekend, the Final Fantasy 14 community turned on the creators of the GShade mod, after one of the creators admitted to adding code that could turn off a user's PC at will. Now, a Reddit user has noticed that the entire GShade mod has been taken offline over at Github.

This means the GShade mod is basically gone for good from Final Fantasy 14. The criticisms of the modding team adding the potentially harmful code to the mod, without telling anyone, was widely criticized by Final Fantasy 14's community on PC for days on end, and for good reason.

With GShade having been taken down from Github, it's recommended anyone currently using the mod should back up their shaders and presets if they move over to the ReShade mod. This mod performs the same feature as Gshade - giving Final Fantasy 14's textures a boost - but without the malicious code, meaning it quickly emerged as a popular alternative earlier this week.

It's worth noting no one's particularly surprised GShade has been taken offline. The latest twist in the "clown show" was a predictable one to many users, while some are still surprised and upset at how controlling the developers of the GShade mod were about the entire situation. 

No one's particularly happy about the whole situation, but it's a relief an alternate to GShade exists for the Final Fantasy 14 community to turn to in these times. 

Oh, and no one's happy with Final Fantasy 14's housing, if you're wondering how the latest round of housing lotteries went. 

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.