Gaming has no shortage of charity events, from Games Done Quick togamer-specific charities like Take This.Final Fantasy 14is a prime example of this notion of gaming for a cause, where it’s common for major events held by the roleplaying community to have a charitable component.
In theFinal Fantasy 14roleplaying community, large-scale annual events that engage players across North American datacenters are increasingly popular. Some of these tentpole events have years of legacy behind them, and few have a more storied history as the charitable Blitzball season which has raised money for various causes in its over six years of operation. In advance of Blitzball’s Skybound Cup on March 9, Game Rant spoke with Etheirys Blitzball League organizers Lakaera and Ffon about the long history the roleplay sport has had with raising money, as well as the history the broader roleplaying community has with giving. Lakaera pointed out that Blitzball is far from alone in its charitable efforts, after all.
FF14 Blitzball: Scoring for a Cause
Originating as Menphina Madness (2017-2022), blitzball began as a small project of Aegir and Iota, the founders of HBA, and evolved into something much bigger over the years. As of 2022, the HBA retired and passed the torch to EBL who now coordinates blitzball every spring.
Blitzball, a game fromFinal Fantasy 10, has developed such a massive following since its original release over 20 years ago thatit even appeared inStar Wars. It’s no surprise that the creative community formed around roleplaying inFinal Fantasy 14has adapted the classic minigame into a fully fleshed-out sports league. And like many real sports leagues, charitable giving is part of what Blitzball has been about in Square Enix’s successful MMO. As Lakaera explained,
The food festivalA Feast Reborn donates to Action Against Hungerand the Great Ishgardian Frostfaire is a Christmas event that donates to Toys for Tots…This season, we’ve gone really big into charity as one of our branches of the EBL. We actually brought onboard aFinal Fantasy 14charity expert, Kasia Lhea, who helped to found the fundraising effort alongside the HBA to help us with that effort, and they make sure to handle all the announcements to coordinate everything.
The Etheirys Bltizball League took over for the now defunct Hydaelyn Blitzball Association in 2023 and wasn’t able to organize a charity event in time for their inaugural season, she explained, but it was a priority for the EBL from the outset given how integral raising money was for the previous league. Between 2020 and the organization’s dissolution in 2022, the HBA’s Score for a Cause program raised over $12,000 for charities including To Write Love on Her Arms, No Kid Hungry, Extra Life, and International Rescue Committee. To date, the EBL has raised over $2,300 for charity.
In their first foray into charity, the EBL has elected to supportExtra Life, a program of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitalsthat directs funds to local hospitals for life-saving treatments and medical research. Lakaera explained how Extra Life was chosen as the first charity of the new league.
We were figuring out what would be a good, wide angle charity that could do the most good in the community on something that the entire community could agree on. Because you have hundreds of people basically donating either directly or through merch to this organization, we wanted to pick one that’s really well-known.
They’ll be garnering the funds for Extra Life through both direct donations and by selling merchandise branded with the iconography of the league’s player-managed teams, ranging from champion Ishgardian Sky Strikers to newcomers like the Valran Red Comets. That merchandise includes everything from hoodies to cups. The EBL was in the process of finalizing that selection as the season was approaching. The EBL gives an in-universe context to their real-world action by having a charity called Fit Bell, which emulatesone of the charitable programs of the NFLcalled Play 60, that allows the characters to engage in the same kind of activity their players are, letting the in-game idea help direct attention to the real-world money going to Extra Life.
What Makes Final Fantasy 14’s Community Strong
But as Lakaera said, the EBL and their predecessor are hardly alone. Those projects raise amounts both humble and impressive, but Blitzball remains one of the most potent forces for charity in the community. In October 2023, the third annual A Feast Reborn food festival held its first donation drive, raising $1,400 for Action Against Hunger. The Ishgardian Frostfaire held two months later raised money for Toys for Tots for their second consecutive year.The special benefit concert Eorzea Rescue, meanwhile, brought $3,600 to Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders] in March 2023, aiding Turkey and Syria.
For Ffon, this larger trend toward giving is tied to the kind of communityFinal Fantasy 14has fostered. The critically acclaimed MMO has won multiple awards over the years for its healthy and robust community maintaining a relatively welcoming and kind space compared to other online games.
This is by far the most invested community that I’ve seen about connecting with people, sharing stories, sharing their experiences, and helping people grow because of it …. That support is everywhere and players look after each other. That’s just the biggest heartwarming thing that I’ve realized, that made me want to stay in this community, is just how much people really want to have your back and make sure you’re okay.
As Ffon expressed, that support isn’t limited to financial contributions.The Kweh, a resource for newFinal Fantasy 14roleplayers, has worked to draw attention to and find avenues to help relieve anxiety within the roleplaying community. The Eorzea Museum Network, particularly theEorzea Aquarium, engages in educational programming that helps promote real-world ecological conservation and understanding.
Ffon and Lakaera acknowledge that no community is perfect, and bad faith actors do exist inFinal Fantasy 14. The experiences roleplayers have withone of the most praised communities in gamingnaturally vary, but by and large, they praise the way the game’s roleplayers come together and support one another.
Final Fantasy 14 (2010)
WHERE TO PLAY
Begin your adventure in FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm RebornCreate your very own Warrior of Light and embark upon a quest to deliver the land from an eternity of Darkness.Take to the skies in FINAL FANTASY XIV: HeavenswardTake your first steps in the reclusive nation of Ishgard, locked in a seemingly never-ending struggle with dragons.Rekindle the fires of hope in FINAL FANTASY XIV: StormbloodJourney to the East and rise up against the might of the Garlean Empire.Become the darkness in FINAL FANTASY XIV: ShadowbringersTravel to a world where light ushers all unto oblivion. But hope is not yet lost, for where there is light there is shadow.Journey to the very stars above in FINAL FANTASY XIV: EndwalkerA great calamity has been building - a second advent of the Final Days. The Warrior of Light must journey ever higher and stand firm as hope’s last bastion.Set forth for new horizons in FINAL FANTASY XIV: DawntrailBlue seas, clear skies, and boundless possibilities await! Explore uncharted territories with familiar faces as hope’s light dawns once more.
