Five Nights at Freddy's (FNaF) is a video game series and media franchise created by Scott Cawthon. It includes video games, books, graphic novels, and movies. The stories usually follow a night guard or another character trying to survive from midnight to 6 a.m. over five levels, called "nights," while avoiding attacks from dangerous animatronic characters. Each game takes place in a different location linked to a fictional pizza restaurant called "Freddy Fazbear's Pizza." The main gameplay involves using tools wisely and managing limited supplies to avoid being caught by the animatronics.

Cawthon thought of the first game after his earlier game, Chipper & Sons Lumber Co., was criticized for its characters looking too similar to scary animatronics. He responded by creating a horror-themed game. Released in August 2014, the game's popularity led to the creation of follow-up games. Cawthon made most of the games himself using a tool called Clickteam Fusion, but worked with Steel Wool Studios to develop other versions, such as an open-world game and a virtual reality collection. Other versions were made with groups like Illumix and Mega Cat Studios.

The series has received mixed reviews. Some praise its storytelling and atmosphere, while others criticize its gameplay. It has been commercially successful, with products sold worldwide. The franchise has a dedicated fanbase that creates many types of fan-made media.

Origin and development

The idea for Five Nights at Freddy's came from the bad reviews of Scott Cawthon's earlier game, Chipper & Sons Lumber Co., where players said the main character looked like a "scary animatronic animal." At first, Cawthon was upset by the criticism. He had mostly made games with Christian themes before. However, he used this feedback to create a game meant to be intentionally scary. Five Nights at Freddy's was released on August 8, 2014, through Desura. Later, it was also released on Steam after receiving approval from a website called Greenlight, where people voted on which games should be available. The game became popular quickly after being shown by well-known YouTubers.

After its success, the Five Nights at Freddy's series grew quickly. It earned a Guinness World Record for having the most video game sequels in a single year for games released between August 2014 and June 2015. Cawthon used a program called Clickteam Fusion 2.5 to make the games and a tool named Autodesk 3ds Max for 3D graphics. Starting with Help Wanted in 2019, Cawthon worked with a game company called Steel Wool Studios. Versions of Five Nights at Freddy's, Five Nights at Freddy's 2, Five Nights at Freddy's 3, and Five Nights at Freddy's 4 were released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on November 29, 2019. In 2021, after facing criticism for donating money to members of the Republican Party, Cawthon said he would retire from the franchise. He stated that someone he chose would take over managing the series from that point forward.

Media

Five Nights at Freddy's was first released for Microsoft Windows on August 8, 2014. It was later available on Android on August 27, 2014, and on iOS on September 11, 2014. The game tells the story of Mike Schmidt, a security guard who must survive a night shift at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza from midnight to 6:00 a.m. without being harmed by dangerous animatronic characters that move around the pizzeria.

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 was introduced shortly after the first game. A trailer was shown on October 21, 2014, and the game was released for Microsoft Windows on November 11, 2014, through Steam. It was also available on Android on November 13, 2014, and on iOS on November 20, 2014. The game follows Jeremy Fitzgerald, a new character, as he tries to survive his shift at a new version of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Ten animatronics move between rooms, and the player must avoid them.

Five Nights at Freddy's 3 was announced on Cawthon's website in January 2015. A trailer was released on January 26, 2015, and the game was launched for Microsoft Windows on March 3, 2015. Android and iOS versions followed on March 6 and 12, 2015. The story takes place at a new horror attraction called "Fazbear's Fright," based on Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. The player controls a night guard who must survive the night against one animatronic named Springtrap.

Five Nights at Freddy's 4 was announced in April 2015 as "The Final Chapter," with a planned release for Halloween. A trailer was released in July, and the release date was moved to August 8, 2015. The game was released on Steam on July 23, 2015, and on Android and iOS on July 25 and August 4, 2015. The game follows an unnamed child in a bedroom who must protect two doors from "nightmare animatronics" that attack them.

Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location was announced in April 2016 with the tagline "there was never just one." A trailer was released on May 21, 2016, and the game was launched on Steam on October 7, 2016. A patch was added to make the fourth night easier. Android and iOS versions were released on December 22, 2016, and January 3, 2017. Unlike earlier games, players move between rooms and complete tasks.

Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator was announced in July 2017 as a sixth game in the series. It was released for free on Steam on December 4, 2017. The game lets players manage a pizzeria during the day and defend against animatronics at night.

Ultimate Custom Night was released as free software. Players can choose from 50 animatronics from previous games and set how aggressive they are during the night. They can also select different offices, unlock cutscenes, and play 16 themed game modes.

Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted was announced during a livestream on March 25, 2019. It was released on May 28, 2019, for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR headsets. The game was developed by Cawthon and Steel Wool Studios, with other studios helping. It includes minigames based on the first five games in the series.

Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach was announced with a teaser trailer on September 16, 2020. It was originally planned for release in 2020 but was delayed until December 16, 2021. The game follows Gregory, a boy trapped in a large entertainment complex called Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex. He must complete tasks while avoiding animatronics that move freely. A downloadable content pack called "Ruin" was released on July 25, 2023, and later on Xbox in 2024.

Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2 is a sequel to Help Wanted. It was announced on May 24, 2023, and released on December 14, 2023, for Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR 2. A non-VR version for PlayStation 5 was released on June 20, 2024. The game includes minigames based on Sister Location and Security Breach.

Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic, the 11th main game, was announced on August 6, 2024. A trailer was shown in February 2025, and the game was released on June 13, 2025, for PlayStation 5 and Windows.

FNaF World was announced on September 15, 2015. It is a role-playing game that uses characters from previous games. Players fight enemies and unlock perks and items. Originally planned for February 2, 2016, it was released on January 21, 2016.

Five Nights at Freddy's AR: Special Delivery is an augmented reality game with location-based gameplay. It was released for free in November 2019 but had its servers shut down on March 14, 2024.

Freddy in Space 2 is a side-scrolling platform shooter game and a sequel to a mini-game from FNaF World. It was released for free on December 3, 2019, to support a charity livestream.

Security Breach: Fury's Rage is a free side-scrolling beat 'em up game featuring characters from Security Breach. It was released on Game Jolt on April 28, 2021

Common elements

The games in the Five Nights at Freddy's series are survival horror games. Players take on the role of a nighttime security guard at a location connected to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, a fictional pizzeria chain. The goal is to watch for and survive the movements of dangerous animatronic characters that move around these places after hours. Many of the animatronics are controlled by the spirits of children who were killed by William Afton, the restaurant's co-founder. Players must survive from midnight to 6 a.m. for five shifts, called "nights," while managing limited resources. If these resources run out, players cannot protect themselves. The resources differ by game: for example, limited power in Five Nights at Freddy's, systems that need to be restarted in Five Nights at Freddy's 3, and controlling a friendly animatronic named Glamrock Freddy, who must be recharged every hour in Security Breach. As the nights progress, the animatronics become more dangerous. If players fail to defend themselves, they are startled by sudden scares and the game ends. If they survive five nights, they win the game.

In many games, players use security cameras to track the animatronics' movements. In Five Nights at Freddy's 2, a music box must be kept wound using the camera feed to stop the Puppet, an animatronic controlled by the daughter of Henry Emily, who was Afton's first victim. In Five Nights at Freddy's 3, cameras watch a single animatronic that holds the undead Afton, known as Springtrap, and include an audio system to lure him to different areas. In Security Breach, the camera system is accessed through Gregory's watch. Lights are used to keep animatronics away or alert players to their presence. Doors appear often in games like Five Nights at Freddy's, Five Nights at Freddy's 4, and Help Wanted, allowing players to block the animatronics.

Reception

The Five Nights at Freddy's video game series has received different opinions from reviewers. The first game got mostly good reviews. It scored 78 out of 100 on Metacritic, a website that collects reviews. Omri Petitte from PC Gamer said the game used simple ideas to create fear, but the gameplay became boring after players learned the rules. Ryan Bates from GameRevolution praised the game's sound effects and easy-to-learn mechanics, calling it "horror done right," but he thought the game was too short.

Later games had mixed reactions. Five Nights at Freddy's 2 scored 62 on Metacritic. Some reviewers liked the new characters and ideas, but others said the game was too hard and had too many surprises. Five Nights at Freddy's 3 scored 68. It kept the basic game style but improved the camera system. Petitte liked the changes but thought the new characters were not as good as older ones. Nic Rowen from Destructoid said the game worked well but lacked the charm of earlier versions. Five Nights at Freddy's 4 scored the lowest at 51. Some reviewers liked its serious tone and scary parts, but others said the game was confusing and had technical problems.

Sister Location scored 62 on Metacritic. Patricia Hernandez from Kotaku called it the most creative game by the series' creator, praising its quality. Rowen and William Hughes from The A.V. Club said the game had better movement and new tasks. However, Angelo M. D'Argenio from GameCrate said the difficulty was unfair, and Rowen said one part of the game was too hard. Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator and Ultimate Custom Night were praised for combining business tasks with survival horror and adding new ideas to the series.

Later games had mixed feedback. Help Wanted, a virtual reality version, scored 80 on Metacritic. Reviewers liked its atmosphere and mix of old and new content. However, versions without VR were criticized, especially the Switch version, which lost VR features. Security Breach scored 64. It had better graphics and a bigger world, but some reviewers said it had technical issues and a hard-to-use save system. Into the Pit, based on the series' stories, scored the highest at 87. It was praised for being creative while keeping the original tone.

The film version of Five Nights at Freddy's got mostly bad reviews. It scored 33 out of 100 on Metacritic. Murtada Elfadl from Variety said the movie missed the chance to make a fun haunted pizzeria. Benjamin Lee from The Guardian said the story was similar to 1980s horror films but had a weak main character. Simon Abrams from RogerEbert.com gave it two stars, saying the setting was interesting but the story had no tension. Five Nights at Freddy's 2, the film sequel, also got mostly bad reviews. It scored 24 on Metacritic. James Mottram from NME said it did not expand the story or add new scares. Frank Scheck from The Hollywood Reporter said the plot was too similar to the first movie. Jesse Hassenger from The Guardian said the script was weak and the ending was poorly made.

Since the first game was released, popular YouTubers like PewDiePie, Markiplier, and Jacksepticeye gained millions of views by playing the games. In 2015, YouTube said videos about the series were the eighth most watched. The mysterious and unclear story of the games led fans to discuss and debate its meaning. Channels like The Game Theorists, which try to explain the series' secrets, helped build a strong fan community. In 2023, The Game Theorists had over 60 videos and 800 million views about the series.

The game's style inspired many fan-made games. Game Jolt, a website for games, created a special category for these projects. The series also influenced music, with songs by The Living Tombstone getting hundreds of millions of views. One of their songs was used in the movie's credits. Toys and collectibles, made by companies like Funko and Todd McFarlane, were also released. A themed attraction based on the movie appeared at Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights in 2025.