Five Nights at Freddy's (The American Empire: The Stars and Stripes) (2025)

Five Nights at Freddy's (FNaF) is a video game series and media franchise created by indie game developer Scott Cawthon. The franchise features 7 main video games, several spin-off and side games, novels, and three films.

The video game series follows a set of night guards and other characters that try to survive from midnight to 6 a.m. for five levels, called "nights", while fending off attacks from homicidal animatronic characters. Each game is set in a different location connected to a fictional family pizza restaurant franchise named "Freddy Fazbear's Pizza". The core gameplay mechanic involves using tools effectively and managing limited resources to avoid being caught by the animatronics, in the fifth and sixth games, Mike Afton becomes the protagonist as he goes on a quest to kill his father William, known best as Springtrap.

Cawthon conceived the idea for the first game after his family-friendly resource management game, Chipper & Sons Lumber Co., was criticized for the resemblance of its characters to frightening animatronics. Responding to this feedback, he developed a horror game that intentionally featured scary animatronics. Released in August 2014, the game's success prompted the development of sequels. Cawthon created most of the games himself using Clickteam Fusion but partnered with Steel Wool Studios and Rocksteady to create the fifth, sixth, and seventh mainline entries, an open-world game and a virtual reality anthology.

The first four games along with the side series had a mixed critical reception, with praise for its storytelling and atmosphere but criticism for its gameplay, while the fifth game onwards has received positive reception. It has achieved significant commercial success, with merchandise available internationally. The franchise has also garnered a cult following that produces fan media inspired by it.

History and development[]

The idea for Five Nights at Freddy's stemmed from the negative reception of Scott Cawthon's previous game, the family-friendly Chipper & Sons Lumber Co. Players said that the main character (a young beaver) looked like "a scary animatronic animal",^{[page needed]} and reviewer James Sterling called the game "unintentionally terrifying". Initially discouraged by the criticism, Cawthon (who had previously primarily developed Christian-oriented games) eventually used the feedback to make something intentionally scarier.

Five Nights at Freddy's was released via Desura on August 8, 2014. On August 20, after it was approved by the service's crowdsourcing platform Greenlight, Five Nights at Freddy's was also released on Steam.^{[failed verification]} When the game was picked up by well-known YouTubers it became an internet sensation.

The sequels were released on November 10, 2014, March 2, 2015, July 23, 2015, October 7, 2016, July 3, 2017, December 4, 2017, June 27, 2018, May 28, 2019, July 7, 2019, November 25, 2019, December 16, 2021, and December 14, 2023, respectively. A spin-off from the series, FNaF World, was announced in a Steam post by Cawthon in September 2015 and was released in January 2016. Free downloadable content for Security Breach, titled Ruin, was subsequently released on July 25, 2023. Cawthon releases teasers for his games on his website,^{[better source needed][better source needed]} and trailers on his YouTube channel. Five Nights at Freddy's V was announced in late 2015, shown off in mid 2016, and released the next summer. Five Nights at Freddy's VI released two years later after being announced in 2018.

Cawthon used Clickteam Fusion 2.5 to create the Five Nights at Freddy's games and Autodesk 3ds Max to model and render the games' 3D graphics. To enhance Sister Location, Pizzeria Simulator, Ultimate Custom Night, Help Wanted, and Special Delivery, Cawthon used professional voice actors and original soundtracks. In May 2016, he announced that all titles would be remade by third-party companies for release on consoles, while the fifth game onwards were made in Unreal Engine.

Cawthon posted on his website in 2015 that he planned to publish his first novel (The Silver Eyes) in the near future, with its stories separate from that of the games. Cawthon also announced that it would be co-written by author Kira Breed-Wrisley. On June 20, 2016, Scholastic announced that it would collaborate with Cawthon on a multi-book deal. The Silver Eyes was released on December 17, 2015, on Amazon Kindle, and the paperback version was published on September 27, 2016, slightly earlier than its originally planned October publication date. A second novel, The Twisted Ones, was published on June 27, 2017, followed by The Fourth Closet on June 26, 2018.

Gameplay[]

The Five Nights at Freddy's series consists of psychological horror-themed video games in which the player is usually a night-time employee at a location connected with Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, a fictional children's restaurant that takes inspiration from family pizza chains like Chuck E. Cheese and ShowBiz Pizza Place. The restaurant has life-size animatronic characters resembling anthropomorphic animals that perform on a show stage, usually for children's parties, but leave their posts and wander the restaurant at night; the guard's job is to watch over them and prevent them from attacking. The animatronics' mobility is stated in the first game to be necessary for them to continue functioning properly in the morning, though subsequent games reveal they are actually possessed by ghosts.

In Five Nights at Freddy's, the player can control the two security doors connecting their office to the adjacent hallways as a barrier against animatronics in the vicinity. Each night, the player has a power supply that depletes faster when a tool is used. If the power goes out, the player can no longer use any tools and is defenseless against the animatronics unless a shift ends before main animatronic Freddy Fazbear can attack. Five Nights at Freddy's 2 has different tools; there are no protective doors, and the player must instead use an empty animatronic head and flashlight to defend themselves against the animatronics. The game introduced a music box which must be remotely wound up on a regular basis to prevent an attack from a particular animatronic. Eight-bit mini-games were introduced, which are played randomly after death and give cryptic clues into the lore.

Five Nights at Freddy's 3 uses a monitor panel, which contains audio, camera, and ventilation. The player must keep certain systems from malfunctioning. These malfunctions can be triggered randomly or by the hallucinations of the animatronics from the first and second games. The ability to seal vents is also added and must be used to prevent the sole tangible animatronic from entering the office. The player can use an audio-based function on the cameras, which triggers a childlike voice to lure Springtrap, the game's only physical animatronic possessed by William Afton's spirit, away from the office. The 8-bit minigames return and are playable after each night if the player completes side tasks such as clicking on a poster or inputting a code into a wall. If the player completes the minigames, they unlock a secret ending.

In Five Nights at Freddy's 4, the gameplay occurs in a bedroom setting, and instead of being a nighttime security guard, the player takes the role of a small child who experiences nightmarish visions of the animatronics due to fearing their real-life counterparts. The player also no longer has access to a camera system. The player has four areas in the bedroom to monitor: two hallway doors on both sides of the room, the closet directly in front of them, and the bed behind them. At the doors, the player must listen for animatronics' breathing, which can determine whether they are near.

If the player hears breathing at the side doors, they close the door and wait for the animatronics to walk away. If they open the doors too early, however, the animatronics jump scare the player. The player must also prevent small animatronics from accumulating on their bed, and prevent an animatronic from entering their closet. Five Nights at Freddy's 4 also introduces a minigame involving a new animatronic, which offers the player a two-hour skip in the next night for completing the minigame.

An elevated control pad is introduced for Sister Location, which can light a room or shock the animatronics. Other mechanics include a second control pad in a breaker room, which controls power to the facility and a flash beacon, which allows the player to see in the dark Funtime Auditorium (a party room) and avoid its animatronic. Sister Location is the only game where the player can move between rooms.

Five Nights at Freddy's V changes the status quo by going in a third-person perspective, where the player will go around fighting soldiers and animatronics as Mike Afton, returning from Sister Location as he pursues his father, William. Five Nights at Freddy's VI builds upon V's mechanics by featuring weapon choices and a playable Endoskeleton named R.O.N, who is fed up with William Afton and goes on quest to kill Afton.

Pizzeria Simulator has business-style gameplay, and the player must spend in-game money to buy features for their pizzeria. A series of minigames can be played by testing the establishment's attractions. After the player has completed this portion of the game, they complete tasks in a room and fend off hostile, previously salvaged animatronics. The gameplay of Pizzeria Simulator shares a number of elements with Five Nights at Freddy's 3, including the importance of ventilation and the ability to distract animatronics with sound.

Ultimate Custom Night is a customizable night, in which fifty animatronics are present and have a maximum AI level of twenty. The game includes many mechanics from the previous games, such as the heater, fan, music box, and power generator. The player can choose which characters they want active for a night, and how active the characters will be.

Help Wanted combines the gameplay of every other game, and turns into a virtual experience for the player. It also introduces several other minigames, in which the gameplay is variant, and also at times has free-roam. Special Delivery features location-based augmented reality gameplay. The player can switch on their camera, and the footage itself is the game's background. The animatronics will try to attack corresponding to the environment. The animatronics generally have cloaking, which leads them to being invisible.

Security Breach holds the open-world aspect to this title allows players to experience a new level of immersion, similar to that of Five Night's at Freddy's 4. Players will also have access to a nifty tool called the Faz-Watch, which allows them to view maps, read messages picked up from random areas on the map, check security cameras for nearby danger, and look at their current objectives. It incorporates Freddy as a helpful companion throughout the game, though he has limited power and must be charged at stations through the map. Players can distract hostile animatronics by knocking things over to get their attention, while they can crouch and hide in various structures to evade them as they follow you throughout the map. Unlike other Five Nights games there are limited save points and there is only a single save station after 6 a.m.

Common elements[]

Security cameras[]

In the early and secondary games, the player has a security-camera system, which observes the animatronic characters. One location can be viewed at a time, and some areas are not visible on the cameras. Most camera feeds are dull, sometimes almost black and white in color, and full of video noise. In the third game, the cameras stop working if their associated system fails. Cameras are used in the fifth game as a mechanic in the fake ending and custom night update, but not in the main game.

Lights[]

In all games except for the third, lights are used to ward off animatronics or warn the player. Lights in the early and side games are activated with buttons on the walls and illuminate the player's blind spots: the doorway or vent exit, respectively. The lights are similar in the fifth game, but are mounted on a control pad and illuminate the animatronics' rooms. The fifth game also introduced a flash beacon, which is used to orient the player in the third and fifth nights' pitch-black rooms.

Several games include use of a flashlight. In the second game, the flashlight has a finite battery life and cannot be recharged, while in the fourth and seventh games, the battery life is infinite. In the eighth game, the flashlight battery varies depending on the game segment being played. Flashlight battery life is again finite in the ninth game, but can be recharged at various recharge stations throughout the game.

Doors and vents[]

In the early mainline and secondary games, doors are a means of defense for the player, and can be closed when an animatronic is near. Vents are featured in the second, third, sixth, and eighth games, as a medium through which animatronics can get to the player. Both doors and vents are again present in the fake ending and custom night update of the fifth game with the same function. Vents are also present in the fifth and ninth games as means for the player to travel through, rather than the animatronics.

Jump scares[]

Every game in the main series contains jump scares, which end a game in defeat as the animatronics are implied to attack the player off-screen. In most jump scares, an animatronic character suddenly appears in the player's view, followed by a loud screaming or roaring noise. Some jump scares, including those by Golden Freddy (in the first and seventh games), Nightmare, and Nightmarionette (in the fourth game), consist of a single screen with shrill, distorted audio; these jump scares usually crash (or restart) the game. The player must use various tools to prevent being attacked via jump scares and advance through each game. In the later mainline games, jump scares will happen when a player is defeated by an animatronic.

Minigames[]

In the first four and side games, the player gains access to a series of (predominantly eight-bit) minigames randomly after death, or after completing a specific task. The minigames usually relate to a story or event relevant to the game, in a cryptic manner. The minigames in the second game portray homicides mentioned by another worker of the restaurant, and the reason of the animatronics gaining life. The minigames in the third game show the story behind Springtrap's creation. Minigames in the fourth game tell the story of a character who dies in a tragic accident.

There is only one minigame in the fifth game, which depicts the death of animatronic engineer William Afton's daughter. The minigames in the sixth game depict various events in the series, all connected to Afton. In the mobile version of the eighth game, the player can access a minigame called "Princess Quest", which depicts the origins of a character called Vanny; a recreation of these minigames is also featured in the ninth game, with some significant additions.

Story overview[]

[TBD story overview]

Games[]

Main series[]

Five Nights at Freddy's (2014)[]

Five Nights at Freddy's was released for Microsoft Windows on August 8, 2014, followed by ports for Android and iOS on August 27 and September 11, respectively. A Windows Phone version was also released but was soon withdrawn due to its downscaled graphics. Ports for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Sega Eclipse were released on November 29, 2019, alongside separate releases for Five Nights at Freddy's 2, 3 and 4.

The first game revolves around a character called Mike Schmidt (Later revealed to be Mike Afton), who begins working as a night security guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, where the animatronics move at night and supposedly kill anyone they see by stuffing them into a spare animatronic suit. Schmidt is guided by the previous night guard, known as Phone Guy, who assists them in their defense against the animatronics through pre-recorded telephone messages until his death in the fourth night. He explains to Schmidt that the animatronics' mobility is a purposely programmed "free-roaming" mode to prevent the animatronics' servomotors from locking up. He also states that they see any human still in the restaurant as an animatronic endoskeleton without a suit. The player must survive from 12 a.m. to 6 am.

The player cannot leave the room and must use a camera system and two doors with lights to defend themselves from the animatronics, with limited power to use their tools. Various hints and clues imply that, contrary to Phone Guy's explanation, the mobility and hostility of the animatronics results from them being possessed by the vengeful souls of children who were killed at the restaurant. Mike is fired from his job after the seventh night for tampering with the animatronics, body odor, and unprofessionalism.

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (2014)[]

Shortly after the release of the first game, Cawthon confirmed rumors about a sequel. He posted a teaser of the sequel on his website one month after the original game's release and continued to post teasers until the sequel's release. A trailer was released on October 21, 2014, introducing new animatronic characters and the absence of doors. Five Nights at Freddy's 2 was released for Microsoft Windows on November 10, 2014, earlier than its planned release of December 25. Ports for Android and iOS were released on November 13 and 20, 2014, respectively. A Windows Phone port was also released but was withdrawn for substandard graphics. PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and [TBD Sega console] console ports were released on November 29, 2019.

The gameplay is largely similar to its predecessor. Players must survive a night shift at the "new and improved" Freddy Fazbear's Pizza restaurant from 12 a.m. to 6 am, without being attacked by any of the animatronics that wander from room to room. In addition to the animatronics from the first game, which are depicted in a deteriorated state, the game features several new antagonists, who can be fended off using different tactics. The explanation given for the animatronics' behavior during the game is similar to the one from the first Five Nights at Freddy's. The protagonist is a new character, Jeremy Fitzgerald, who is promoted to daytime security after the sixth night, being replaced by Fritz Smith in the seventh night.

During the game, Phone Guy from the previous game calls Jeremy to give him hints on how to survive each night while talking about the restaurant's history. During these calls, it is revealed that the restaurant has become the subject of a police investigation due to various rumors. It is also possible to access hidden Atari-styled minigames that provide further insight on the restaurant's troubled past, showing a purple figure killing multiple children. On the fifth night, the location is put on lockdown due to an unspecified event. At the end of the game, Jeremy receives a paycheck dated 1987, revealing that the events of the game take place before the first Five Nights at Freddy's, and the restaurant is closed, with a new location set to be opened elsewhere.

Five Nights at Freddy's 3 (2015)[]

On January 3, 2015, an image was uploaded to Cawthon's website teasing a third entry in the series. Other images followed before a trailer was released on January 26, 2015. On February 15, Cawthon posted on Steam that Five Nights at Freddy's 3 was cancelled after a hacker allegedly leaked the game. This was later revealed as a hoax; the "leaked" download linked to a humorous clone of a previous game of Cawthon's, There is No Pause Button!, in which the main character is depicted wearing the Freddy animatronic head. Five Nights at Freddy's 3 was released for Microsoft Windows on March 3, 2015, with Android and iOS ports following on March 7 and 12, respectively. PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Sega Eclipse console ports were released on November 29, 2019.

Set thirty years after the events of the first game, its main character works at Fazbear's Fright, a horror attraction based on the long-gone Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. The player must defend themselves from the deteriorated animatronic-costume hybrid named Springtrap. Burnt and tattered hallucinations of some of the animatronics from the previous two games appear; and although they cannot kill the player, they can hinder ventilation, sound, and camera systems. Failure to maintain the systems can create many issues for the player, including dysfunctional cameras and the inability to play audio to lure away the animatronic.

The player receives guidance from a founder of the horror attraction for the first two nights and listens to old tape recordings which were found by the attraction's workers for the rest of the nights. The game has two endings: a "good" ending and a "bad" ending. The bad ending reveals that the souls of the murdered children still haunt the animatronics. The good ending is reached by completing secret minigames in which animatronic characters bring a cake to what seems to be a sorrowful child's soul. After completing the secret minigames, the souls of the children are freed.

Five Nights at Freddy's 4 (2015)[]

On April 27, 2015, Cawthon began posting images on his website teasing another game in the series, which was originally titled Five Nights at Freddy's 4: The Final Chapter. A trailer was released on July 13, 2015, hinting that the game was set in the main character's house. Five Nights at Freddy's 4 was announced with a release date of October 31, 2015. It was pushed forward to August 8 and again to July 23, when the game was unexpectedly released on Microsoft Windows through Steam. Android and iOS ports were released on July 25 and August 3, 2015, respectively. PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Sega Eclipse console ports were released on November 29, 2019.

The player character is an unknown and unnamed child who has delusions of being attacked by nightmarish versions of the first game's animatronic characters. The player must defend themselves with a flashlight and doors. The game's story is told through minigames, in which an unnamed young boy is bullied by his older brother because of his irrational fear of a restaurant with a yellow animatronic bear and rabbit called Fredbear and Spring Bonnie, respectively. He is guided by a plush version of Fredbear, whom the boy imagines can speak to him when he is alone. The child appears to be ultimately killed by Fredbear in a freak accident. The game had a Halloween update with "nightmare" versions of animatronics from Five Nights at Freddy's 2 and Halloween-themed reskins for Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica.

Five Nights at Freddy's V (2017)[]

Five Nights at Freddy's V is a 2017 third-person shooter action-horror game developed by Rocksteady and Steel Wool Studios and published by Clickteam and WB Games. It is the fifth main entry in the Five Nights at Freddy's series, following 2015's Five Nights at Freddy's 4, and the sixth installment overall. Set in modern day, the single-player story follows Michael Afton on a mission to kill his father William and evade his animatronic army and Soldiers, eventually being aided by the new heads of Fazbear Entertainment in order to defeat Afton.

The game was released in July 2017 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Sega Eclipse, and PC.

Five Nights at Freddy's VI (2019)[]

Five Nights at Freddy's: 1986 (2022)[]

Side series[]

Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location (2016)[]

On April 23, 2016, Cawthon posted a teaser image on his website of a clown-like animatronic named Baby from an upcoming game titled Sister Location. Several teaser images of different characters and hints at their origins followed. The trailer for the game was released on Cawthon's YouTube channel, with new animatronics and a new location. The release date was announced as October 7, 2016. Cawthon made a prank release of the game on October 5, apparently releasing a "mature" edition after a decision to delay the game to make it more kid-friendly. The download link led to a clone of Cawthon's previous game, Sit 'N Survive.

Sister Location was released for Microsoft Windows on October 7, 2016, followed by ports for Android on December 22, 2016, and iOS on January 3, 2017, respectively. It was also released on Nintendo Switch in North America on June 18, 2020, and on Xbox One on July 10, 2020. The PlayStation 4 port was released in Europe and North America on July 21 and 22, 2020, respectively.

The player character Michael Afton, nicknamed Mike (jokingly called Eggs Benedict), is a new employee of Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental (a sister company of Fazbear Entertainment that rents animatronics for children's parties). The animatronics were originally intended for Circus Baby's Pizza World, which never opened due to a gas leak. Mike is guided by HandUnit, an AI character similar to the Phone Guy of previous games. HandUnit instructs him about his job, often telling him to disregard safety; the animatronic Baby often gives instructions that contradicts that of HandUnit, but are vital to survival.

The game also has a "custom night", in which the player can use mechanics reminiscent of the first game (such as interactive doors and a camera system) which were absent from the main game, except for a non-canonical ending, titled the "Fake Ending". New minigames are also available, describing Michael's fate after the events of the main game. A cutscene is shown after the "Golden Freddy" custom-night preset, in which Michael speaks to his father, William Afton/Springtrap, in a foreboding way.

Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator (2017)[]

In June 2017, Cawthon hinted at the development of a sixth main game in the series. On July 2, 2017, he announced his decision to cancel the game and said that he had been "neglecting other things in [his] life for the sake of trying to keep up with mounting expectations". On December 4, 2017, after teasing the game several days earlier, Cawthon released Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator as freeware on Steam. The game is a business-simulation game in which the player runs a pizzeria, but frequently shifts into the survival-horror vein of the series' other games.

A mobile version for iOS and Android titled FNaF: Pizzeria Simulator was released on August 13, 2019. Unlike the PC version, the mobile release, which is developed and published by Clickteam LLC USA, is pay-to-play. A Nintendo Switch and Xbox One port was released on October 31, 2020, with a PlayStation 4 port released on March 31, 2021.

The game's story follows the manager (implied to be Michael Afton) of a new Freddy Fazbear's restaurant run by the mysterious "Cassette Man". Every night, Michael, under Cassette Man's guidance, must salvage one of four decrepit animatronics that were found in the restaurant's back alley, including William / Springtrap (now referred to as "Scraptrap") and Elizabeth / Circus Baby (referred to as "Scrap Baby").

The game has multiple endings depending on how well the player runs the pizzeria and whether they salvaged all the animatronics, but the canon ending has Cassette Man reveal himself as Henry Emily, William's former business partner, and set the restaurant on fire after revealing its true purpose as a trap to lure in the remaining animatronics. The restaurant burns to the ground, seemingly killing the player character, Henry, and all the animatronics, finally releasing the spirits haunting them.

Ultimate Custom Night (2018)[]

Ultimate Custom Night was originally intended to be a post-launch add-on to Pizzeria Simulator, but was eventually turned into a stand-alone game, releasing on June 27, 2018, as freeware. A mobile port for iOS and Android was released on April 28, 2020, and a console port for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch was released on April 30, 2021. The customizable night contains a total of fifty animatronics from previous games, which allows the player to determine how aggressive they are during the night (similar to the custom nights in earlier games). The player can select the office to play in, unlock cutscenes, and choose from 16 themed game modes available. Although unconfirmed, it has been heavily speculated that the game takes place in some version of Hell or Purgatory, where William Afton, following his death in Pizzeria Simulator, is being continuously tortured by the vengeful spirit of one of his victims.

However, the anthology novel series Fazbear Frights implies that the game is actually Afton's repeating nightmare, and not hell or purgatory. This comes from the fifth book, Bunny Call, which has a story called "The Man in Room 1280" where a burned man is kept alive by a shadow child despite the fact that he should be dead and suffers nightmares. In the following book, Blackbird, the epilogue confirms that the man is actually William Afton. Although it was never confirmed if the Fazbear Frights series is set in the same continuity as the games, Cawthon confirmed that it's supposed to reveal mysteries from the previous games.

Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach (2021)[]

On August 8, 2019, on the first game's fifth anniversary, Cawthon posted a new image on his website, teasing the next installment for the series. It shows the "Mega Pizzaplex", a large entertainment complex containing a laser tag arena, an arcade, a cinema and a Freddy Fazbear's Pizza restaurant; in the main square, '80s-style versions of Freddy, Chica, and four completely new animatronics can be seen playing for an excited crowd. On April 21, 2020, the characters' names were leaked from Funko's list of upcoming products, and the title was revealed as Five Nights at Freddy's: Pizza Plex. Scott Cawthon confirmed the leaks via Reddit but revealed that the title was not official. The game was initially scheduled for an early 2021 release but was delayed to late 2021.

Security Breach was released on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Steam on December 16, 2021. The game's plot revolves around a young boy named Gregory being trapped in a large entertainment complex teeming with murderous animatronics who hunt him down by the orders of Vanny, a mysterious woman in a rabbit costume, while also evading the complex's security guard, Vanessa. Suffering a malfunction that causes him to ignore Vanny's hacking, Freddy assists Gregory in escaping the complex.

A Stadia port was launched on July 1, 2022, ports for Xbox One and Series X/S were released on November 22, 2022, and a Nintendo Switch port was released on April 19, 2023. Free downloadable content titled Ruin was released for PlayStation 5, 4, and Steam on July 25, 2022, with an Xbox One and Series X/S port releasing on April 23, 2024, and a Nintendo Switch port in the works.

Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic (2025)[]

An eleventh main installment, Secret of the Mimic, was announced on August 6, 2024, as part of the series' 10th anniversary. The game will center on the Mimic, introduced in Five Nights at Freddy's V. It will be the third virtual reality game of the series.

Help Wanted series[]

Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted (2019)[]

On August 18, 2018, Cawthon confirmed on his Steam thread that the next secondary installment in the Five Nights at Freddy's series would be available as a virtual reality game. On March 25, 2019, during Sony Interactive Entertainment's State of Play live stream announcing several new games for the PlayStation 4, a trailer announcing the game was shown. In the game, the player is a technician repairing a pizzeria's animatronics. From a first-person perspective, they fix the animatronics, solve puzzles and navigate dark hallways while avoiding malfunctioning and hostile animatronics. The game was released on May 28, 2019. A non-VR version of the game was released on December 17, 2019, for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4.

Curse of Dreadbear, a Halloween-themed downloadable content (DLC) pack for Help Wanted was released in three parts, with several "waves" of new minigames released on October 23, October 29, and October 31, 2019, for a total of 10 new minigames. The DLC pack includes new animatronic characters, returning animatronics from previous games, and a Halloween-themed hub. Some of the new stages are re-skinned versions of existent minigames, such as a version of the FNAF 1 minigames called Danger! Keep Out! Notable new game modes include a shooting gallery, a free-roaming corn maze, and an assembly line in which the player must construct an animatronic.

Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2 (2023)[]

On May 24, 2023, during a PlayStation Showcase, Steel Wool Studios announced a direct sequel to Help Wanted titled Help Wanted 2, scheduled for release in December 2023. On November 20, 2023, the gameplay trailer was released on the official Steel Wool Studios YouTube channel, revealing several characters from the game along with the release date of December 14 on PlayStation 5 and Steam. A Meta Quest version of the game was released on May 9, 2024, and the game was launched physically with a flat version on June 20.

Adventure series[]

FNaF World (2016)[]

Cawthon announced a spin-off from his series, FNaF World, on September 15, 2015. Unlike the main series, the game is a role-playing video game using the first four games' animatronic characters. The game is set in a fanciful world where the characters must fight enemies and progress by unlocking perks and items. Originally planned for release on February 2, 2016, Cawthon rescheduled the release for January 22 and released it on January 21.

Players and critics criticized the game for missing key features and being unstable and unfinished, for which Cawthon apologized: "I got too eager to show the things that were finished that I neglected to pay attention to the things that weren't." He decided to remove it from Steam, saying that the game would be improved and later re-released free of charge. Cawthon announced that he asked Valve to refund all purchasers the price of the game.

He released a free version of the game, featuring a 3D overworld and an updated character-selection screen, in February 2016. Cawthon posted a new teaser the following month, with characters such as the main series' Purple Guy and most of the characters from the Halloween update of Five Nights at Freddy's 4. He created minigames for the game's second update, including Foxy Fighters, FOXY.exe, Chica's Magic Rainbow, and FNaF 57: Freddy in Space.

FNaF Heroes (2018)[]

[TBD video game synopsis]

Spin-offs[]

Five Nights at Freddy's: Special Delivery (2019–2024)[]

An augmented reality game with location-based gameplay, Five Nights at Freddy's: Special Delivery, was announced on September 13, 2019. The game was released for free on iOS and Android on November 25, 2019. Dark Circus: Encore!, DLC for Special Delivery, was released on December 13, 2021.

Its story bridges the gap between Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted, and Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach, and is told in epistolary format. One series of emails tells of a woman, Ness, triggering red-flag reports with her harmful and offensive search words. The emails eventually reveal that she is under the control of William Afton, and that Ness is Vanny from Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted ("Ness" being short for Vanny's real name "Vanessa"), who was possessed by Afton after encountering a digital form of him while play-testing one of Fazbear's products. Another series of emails tells the story of the employees at Fazbear Entertainment scanning the circuit boards of old animatronics for "The Freddy Fazbear Virtual Experience".

As of 2023, Five Nights at Freddy's: Special Delivery has been downloaded 40 million times, and has 6.7 million monthly active users.

On February 1, 2024, Illumix announced the closure of Special Delivery. On February 2, the game was no longer available to download on iOS and Android. The game's servers shut down on March 14.^{[citation needed]}

Freddy in Space 2 (2019)[]

Freddy in Space 2 is a side-scrolling platform shooter game and a sequel to the FNaF 57: Freddy in Space mini-game from FNaF World. It was released for free on December 3, 2019, on Game Jolt. The game was made to promote a "#CancelCancer" charity livestream on YouTube, which was hosted by Matthew Patrick of Game Theorists for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Security Breach: Fury's Rage (2021)[]

Security Breach: Fury's Rage is a side-scrolling beat 'em up game featuring the main cast of Security Breach (not including Gregory or Vanessa). The game was made to compensate for the release of Security Breach being delayed for a second time and was released for free on Game Jolt on April 28, 2021.

Freddy in Space 3: Chica in Space (2023)[]

Freddy in Space 3: Chica in Space is a side-scrolling platform shooter game and a sequel to Freddy in Space 2, it was released on October 18, 2023 for free on Game Jolt.

Five Nights at Freddy's: Into the Pit (2024)[]

On January 22, 2024, an adaptation of the Fazbear Frights: Into the Pit anthology novel was leaked to be in development in an upcoming slate of new novels to be released in 2024. The following day, a trailer was leaked online. Later that day, series creator Scott Cawthon made a post on Reddit acknowledging the leaks and stating the game would release for the series' 10th anniversary on August 8. On January 25, 2024, Mega Cat Studios confirmed they were developing the game. The gameplay trailer for the game released June 6. It will be the first installment of the series to be fully in 2D and made with pixel art. The game was accidentally released to Japanese consoles early on August 7, which was repurposed as the new release date. Ports for home consoles are set for release on September 27.

Five Laps at Freddy's (2025)[]

Five Laps at Freddy's is a kart racing game based on characters from Five Nights at Freddy's developed by Clickteam. It was announced on June 19, 2024, to coincide with the series' 10th anniversary. A gameplay trailer was released August 3. A demo of the game was released August 7 and a full release of the game is expected in 2025.

Fazbear Fanverse[]

On August 21, 2020, Cawthon announced his plan to help fund and publish Five Nights at Freddy's games developed by fans, bundled with previous installments in their respective series. Games published under this initiative include the One Night at Flumpty's series, the Five Nights at Candy's series, the Joy of Creation series, and Popgoes Evergreen (including its prologue game). Cawthon stated that these games will come to other platforms, such as mobile and consoles, and may have merchandise created for them. The first game to be released under this initiative was a port of One Night at Flumpty's for Android and iOS on October 31 and November 18, 2020, respectively, followed by two of its sequels later in 2021 on the same platforms. Another game planned to be published under this initiative, Five Nights at Freddy's Plus, a remake of the original game, is set for 2025.

Books[]

[TBD literature]