Earlier this month, Final Fantasy 14 partnered with Grubhub for a promotion where players could get their hands on an adorable in-game emote where their character snacks on a slice of pizza. However, since the short-lived promotion ended, Grubhub has shorted thousands of Final Fantasy 14 players their promised pizza emote, citing fine print and conflicting stories to explain the apparent deficit of the digital product.
The Final Fantasy 14 x Grubhub promotion was simple in concept: order $15 worth of food before tax and other charges between December 9th and 15th, and use the promo code “ENDWALKER” on the order, and the email associated with the Grubhub account would receive a code redeemable for the emote. Additionally, the first 20,000 orders placed during The Game Awards on December 9 would have free delivery on their orders.
The Grubhub promotion came and went, and the codes were set to be distributed on December 17. While many received theirs, other Final Fantasy 14 players didn’t, prompting them to contact Grubhub, who proceeded to give several different excuses about why they wouldn't be getting their pizza emote. Some were told the limited supply of free deliveries was actually a limited supply of emotes, and that it was first come, first serve, while others were told it was a lottery. Others were told it applied only to delivery orders, though some who picked up their orders still got the emote.
Final Fantasy 14’s original announcement for the promotion with Grubhub laid out the prerequisites and details of the item code in what was thought to be excruciating detail, but none of the excuses or fine print wielded by Grubhub were present. The announcement made it seem like anyone who used the code would receive the emote, leading many unlucky players to feel cheated by Grubhub's subtle terms and conditions.
As one might imagine, players are not happy with Grubhub. The food delivery service is not available globally, and as the codes are region locked, there were already many players who could not get the Final Fantasy 14 emote, even if they ordered for an online friend. The limited runtime of the promotion, restricted supply, and conflicting doubletalk and deception has caused an uproar, leading many players to boycott the delivery service entirely.
What was originally supposed to be an opportunity for publicity via collaboration with FF14 could quickly turn into a blemish on Grubhub's reputation. Unless Grubhub provides the emote as promised to all participating players, it could lose thousands of repeat customers. Luckily, Final Fantasy 14 has stated the emote could become available in the future, either in other giveaways or on the Mog Station online store.
Final Fantasy 14 is now available on PC, PS4, and PS5.