Square Enix announced the next step in eliminating the Real Money Trade (RMT) and third-party tool use in Final Fantasy XI today with the formation of a special task force within the greater management team.

The special task force was formed in late October. They have begun investigating about 100 Japanese websites and about 50 in North America, and focus will later shift to the largest and most active sites. The special task force will continue to work on eliminating gil sellers in the game to provide a better playing experience for other players.

As with their previous steps to stop RMT, Square Enix has continued to ban accounts. In October, 1,400 accounts were banned. With this new form for investigating RMT sites, an additional 100 accounts have been banned along with the removal of several billion gil. Several sites have also shut down or ceased conducting RMT activity within Final Fantasy XI. The special task force will also begin warning or penalizing players who buy gil regularly or in large amounts.

Along with continuing investigations into RMT, the special task force will continue to combat the use of third-party tools, such as speed enhancement or automated farming tools. Their focus will be on those tools and any others that are related to RMT activity. The task force is also working on ways to refine the measures used in combating RMT and third-party tools as well as ways to track down repeat offenders.

The special task force will investigate reports dealing with the above matters carefully to avoid false accusations. The special task force will investigate each case independently, but may enlist the cooperation of the community at certain times.