Japanese Final Fantasy 14 players can earn in-game loot by paying their taxes

Jun 17, 2026 - 19:18

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Japanese Final Fantasy 14 players can earn in-game loot by paying their taxes

Published Jun 17, 2026, 11:16 AM EDT

They'll also receive in-game costumes and Phials of Fantasia

A little elf guy riding a Shiba Inu into battle.

Final Fantasy 14 devotees rejoice: you can now earn $88 worth of in-game cosmetics by paying your taxes. Well, if you live in Japan, anyway. Courtesy of Famitsu, Square Enix has teamed up with Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward to offer digital items to Japanese citizens who contribute part of their taxes to the district.

Japan has what’s called the hometown tax contribution system, which allows participants to allocate part of their income taxes to a specific town of their choice, even if they don't currently live there. The initiative was primarily created to help support rural communities suffering from depopulation. When a town or city receives these tax allocations, they tend to send the contributor gifts, such as local specialty goods, or in this case, nerd stuff.

In recent years, some communities have taken to offering digital awards, like how Shibuya Ward previously partnered with the mobile games Monster Strike and Kotodaman. For those who haven’t heard of Shibuya, it’s a famous part of Tokyo traditionally known for its overlap with otaku culture, including anime and video games.

As for the specific Final Fantasy 14 items offered as a reward for Shibuya tax contributions, players will receive five Phials of Fantasia (these are used to change your characters’ appearance), the Collegiate Attire slacks and skirt, the Magitek costume, four dance emotes, and best of all, the Megashiba mount. This large dog is a reference to the Shibuya mascot Hachiko, an Akita Inu that earned a bronze statue for its Argos-like loyalty to its owner. While the items offered aren't exclusive to those who contribute to Shibuya, the ward is likely to see at least a few dedicated FF14 heads sending their taxes for these e-goods.

Earlier this month, Final Fantasy 14 received its 7.51 patch, which added new Ultimate raid challenges featuring Final Fantasy 6 antagonist Kefka Palazzo; it's thesecond of four updates that Square has promised for this year. The game’s previous major expansion, Dawntrail, launched in 2024, and its upcoming add-on Evercold is set for 2027. Additionally, the game is coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 this August.