Final Fantasy XIV fans are calling out Square Enix for failing disabled players again. After the 2023 Las Vegas Fan Fest turned into what many described as an accessibility disaster, the community hoped the publisher learned its lesson. Instead, details emerging about the 2026 Anaheim event reveal the same problems repeating, potentially worse this time around.
The core issue centers on The Trade Group, a third-party company Square Enix hired to manage accessibility accommodations. When fans bought tickets and checked the ADA assistance box, they expected that meant proper planning was underway. What they discovered is a system that treats accessibility like an individual education plan rather than basic event infrastructure, and it has one person responsible for personally calling every disabled attendee.
The Phone Call Problem
Here’s how the current system works. After selecting ADA assistance during ticket purchase, attendees receive an email requiring them to schedule a personal phone call with The Trade Group’s accessibility consultant. During this call, they must discuss their specific needs in detail. Following the call, they receive an email outlining proposed accommodations and have exactly 24 hours to agree or schedule another complete phone call to renegotiate.
Sara Winters, a visually impaired accessibility consultant who attended the 2023 event, conducted research that reveals why this approach is fundamentally broken. Their survey of 1,000 nerd convention attendees found approximately 14 percent have accessibility requirements. The 2023 Las Vegas Fan Fest sold over 15,000 tickets. If Anaheim attendance is similar, that means one person at The Trade Group needs to personally contact and coordinate with over 2,000 people.
The math simply doesn’t work. Even if that consultant worked 40 hours per week exclusively on phone calls from now until the April event, they couldn’t meaningfully address everyone’s needs. And phone calls themselves aren’t accessible for deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-impaired attendees, creating a barrier before accommodations even begin.
What Went Wrong in 2023
To understand why fans are so concerned, you need to know what happened at the last North American Fan Fest. Multiple attendees reported dangerous situations that easily could have resulted in serious injuries or worse.
Problems at the 2023 event included:
- Near crowd crush incidents when doors opened for merchandise, with people packed so tightly they had to cling to each other to avoid being trampled
- Mosh pit at The Primals concert encroaching on ADA seating with no protective barriers
- Single water fountain for 15,000 people in Las Vegas where temperatures exceeded 100 degrees
- Wheelchair accessibility buttons blocked by trash cans
- Minimal bag checks and security, allowing anyone to bring anything into the venue
- Understaffed event with conflicting instructions from different staff members
- Long wait times for food and insufficient facilities throughout
One Reddit user described arriving at the convention center in a wheelchair only to find the button for wheelchair access physically blocked by a trash can positioned in a way that made it impossible to reach independently. That set the tone for the entire weekend.
When Medical Needs Change
Another attendee shared their experience of having their medical condition change unexpectedly the day before the 2023 event, requiring them to use a wheelchair throughout Fan Fest when they hadn’t anticipated needing one. Under the current phone call system for 2026, that person would have been completely out of luck. There’s no flexibility for situations where accessibility needs change at the last minute due to illness, injury, or condition flares.
Square Enix Track Record
Fan Fest 2023 wasn’t an isolated incident. Square Enix has a documented pattern of mishandling accessibility at their events. The company largely ignored complaints and feedback after that event, offering minimal acknowledgment of the problems despite numerous attendees raising concerns publicly and privately.
The twist that makes this situation especially frustrating is that Square Enix actually improved at other events. Winters noted that PAX East 2024 and 2025 showed the company taking prior criticisms seriously. The FFXIV booth at those conventions made significant proactive efforts to create accessible and welcoming environments. When fans saw the ADA marker during Fan Fest 2026 ticket signup, they genuinely hoped those lessons had been applied to the larger event.
Instead, Square Enix outsourced the problem to a third-party company that doesn’t appear equipped to handle the scope of work required. The single point of contact handling accessibility reportedly has a background in special education, which The Trade Group seems to believe qualifies them for this role. As Winters explained to Eurogamer, special education is related to accessibility but not synonymous with it. The skills needed to develop IEPs for students don’t automatically translate to event accessibility planning for thousands of attendees with diverse needs.
Why This System Fails Everyone
Winters explained the fundamental problem in a post on BlueSky. Means testing doesn’t work. Requiring disabled people to prove their needs through phone interviews and negotiations complicates access for those who genuinely require assistance while doing nothing to prevent bad actors who want to exploit accommodations. People without disabilities who want to game the system will find ways around verification processes regardless. The only people this approach hurts are those who actually need help.
Proper accessibility should be built into event design from the start, not treated as individual special requests. When you design events to be accessible for everyone, the entire experience improves for all attendees. Wider aisles help people with strollers and luggage, not just wheelchairs. Clear signage benefits everyone, not just people with cognitive disabilities. Quiet rooms give all attendees a place to decompress from sensory overload.
The Anaheim Convention Center
The venue itself provides basic accessibility features as required by law. The Anaheim Convention Center website details wheelchair access, elevators, and accessible restrooms. However, it explicitly notes that individual events are responsible for securing ASL interpreters and other specific accommodations. The convention center did not respond to Eurogamer’s request for comment about the 2026 Fan Fest preparations.
This means while the building’s infrastructure meets legal minimums, everything else falls on Square Enix and The Trade Group. Given what fans have learned about the planning process so far, there’s little confidence that attendee-specific needs will be adequately met beyond what the venue provides by default.
Community Response
The concerns have been escalating for over two weeks with no meaningful changes from Square Enix or The Trade Group. Fans have repeatedly communicated the problems to the accessibility liaison, explaining why one person cannot handle this workload and why the phone call system excludes people who need help most. The response has been continuing with the same approach anyway.
Multiple community members have announced they’re not attending. Winters stated they cannot in good conscience justify spending time and money on a convention that’s neither safe nor accessible. After experiencing the 2023 disaster firsthand, they refuse to invest another large sum to endure that again. Others who initially requested ADA assistance when buying tickets are now expressing regret, saying the phone call process seemed too complicated for their circumstances, so they didn’t pursue it even though they need accommodations.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the FFXIV Fan Fest 2026 in Anaheim?
The event is scheduled for April 24-25, 2026, at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. This is where major announcements about the MMORPG’s next expansion are expected.
What exactly is wrong with the accessibility planning?
Square Enix hired a third-party company that has one person responsible for personally calling potentially over 2,000 disabled attendees to discuss accommodations. Phone calls aren’t accessible for many disabled people, and there’s no way one person can adequately serve that many individuals. Additionally, attendees must agree to accommodations within 24 hours or schedule another full phone call.
What happened at the 2023 Las Vegas Fan Fest?
The event had multiple safety and accessibility failures including near crowd crush incidents, inadequate water access in extreme heat, ADA seating without proper barriers from mosh pits, minimal security, wheelchair accessibility features blocked by obstacles, and general understaffing that created dangerous situations.
Who is The Trade Group?
The Trade Group is a company that specializes in organizing trade shows and conventions. They’ve managed events for the 2023 Pokemon World Championship in Japan and exhibits for Twitch, Stadia, and Magic: The Gathering among others. Square Enix hired them to handle the 2026 Fan Fest.
What should Square Enix do instead?
Accessibility advocates like Sara Winters recommend hiring qualified accessibility consultants with relevant expertise and following their recommendations. Accessibility should be designed into the event from the beginning rather than treated as individual special accommodations requiring verification through phone interviews.
Can people still get tickets?
Tickets went on sale earlier this year. The status of current availability hasn’t been widely reported, but given the 15,000 attendance at the previous event and the popularity of FFXIV, tickets likely sold quickly.
Has Square Enix responded to these concerns?
As of now, there’s been no public statement from Square Enix addressing the accessibility concerns raised by the community. The Trade Group continues with its current approach despite feedback explaining why it won’t work.
Will there be expansions announced at this Fan Fest?
Fan Fest events traditionally serve as the venue for major FFXIV expansion announcements. Given the timing and pattern from previous events, an 8.0 expansion reveal is expected though not officially confirmed.
Are other Fan Fest locations having the same problems?
The concerns specifically relate to the North American event in Anaheim. Square Enix typically holds Fan Fest in multiple regions including Europe and Japan, but details about accessibility planning for those events haven’t been reported in the same way.
What Happens Next
The event is still months away, which theoretically gives Square Enix time to fix this before April. But that requires the company to acknowledge the problem exists and take meaningful action. So far, the pattern suggests they’re more likely to proceed as planned and deal with the fallout afterward, just like they did in 2023.
What makes this situation particularly disappointing is how avoidable it is. Square Enix demonstrated at smaller conventions that they can listen to feedback and implement better accessibility practices. They chose not to apply those lessons to their biggest fan event. The community isn’t asking for anything unreasonable. They want basic safety measures, infrastructure that accommodates disabled attendees without making them jump through hoops to prove they deserve access, and event planning that treats accessibility as essential rather than optional.
Winters summed it up perfectly in their forum post. If Square Enix truly wants to honor their commitment to accessibility, they need to hire actual accessibility consultants and do what those consultants recommend. Not people with tangentially related backgrounds. Not third-party companies with one overwhelmed employee. Actual experts who understand how to design inclusive events at scale. Until that happens, disabled fans will keep getting failed, and more people will decide their money and time are better spent elsewhere than at events that treat them like afterthoughts.