Explaining the Entire Timeline of Five Nights at Freddy’s
The Five Nights at Freddy’s game history isn’t exactly clear, and the newest addition to the core series further complicates matters. There are currently seven games in the main series chronology that are canon. However, the release order is not the same as the chronological sequence of the games, particularly after the release of Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach.
There are multiple spin-off games in the Five Nights at Freddy’s series, and their placement in the chronology is often debated among fans. Some fans have created elaborate timelines that document every piece of legend and when it first appeared. While many fans disagree on the genuine Fazbear Pizza chronology, creator Scott Cawthon and other developers believe the core series games to be official, and these games have pretty unambiguous time stamps.
The fourth episode of Five Nights at Freddy’s
The fourth part in the series is the first to take place chronologically; it takes place in 1983. Unlike previous games in the series, the player character is a youngster in their own bedroom rather than a security guard at a pizzeria. This youngster remains in their bed during the game and is equipped with a flashlight. The youngster is visited by nightmare versions of popular FNAF animatronics Chica, Bonnie, Freddy, and Foxie while they sit in the dark.
To get through the scary night, they use a flashlight and strategically lock closet doors. The youngster was the victim of the “Bite of ’83,” when bullies at a party pushed their head into Fredbear’s mouth at Fredbear’s Family Diner, as revealed through minigames in Five Nights at Freddy’s 4. This tragedy resulted in the closing of Fredbear’s Family Diner and the events of subsequent games.
Sister Location of Five Nights at Freddy’s
The events of Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location are unclear, however fans usually believe that it is the second chronological game, taking place soon after FNAF4 and before the events of FNAF2. This game offers a lot of franchise mythology centered on the animatronics’ inventor, William Afton, and his offspring.
Players take on the role of Michael Afton, who finds himself in Circus Baby’s Entertainment and Rental, an underground warehouse that keeps animatronics for party rentals. These robots are from a now-defunct Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza sister location, and animatronics such Circus Baby and Ballora are exclusive to this game. Other Fazbear animatronics such as Bonnie, Freddy, and Foxie may also be seen in circus-themed “Funtime” versions. Through Sister Location, Circus Baby gains Michael’s confidence and finally leads him to his death, enabling animatronic Ennard’s endoskeleton to depart the premises using Michael’s flesh as a disguise.
The sequel to Five Nights at Freddy’s
In Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, players assume the character of Jeremy Fitzgerald, the newest Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza security guard. The last payment players get shows that the events of FNAF2 took place in November of 1987. The second game in the series follows the same premise as the first, with players keeping motionless in a security office while striving to avoid dangerous animatronics.
Every night, an unidentified employee on the phone chats to Jeremy and shares facts about the location and the work. The animatronics are free to explore the premises and are designed to seek out noise, even at night. It’s also been stated that vintage animatronics are stored in the premises for spare parts. Eventually, Jeremy discovers that the restaurant is the subject of an ongoing police investigation, similar to the “Bite of ’87” featured in the previous game. After-death Atar-style minigames were added in FNAF2, as was “The Purple Man,” who many fans think murdered numerous children at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza.
Freddy’s Five Nights at Freddy’s
Five Nights at Freddy’s has no definite date in the chronology, although fans generally agree that it takes place in 1993. Players take on the role of Mike Schmidt, a nighttime security guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. The game takes place in a different area than FNAF2, and an unidentified recorded voice reminds players of the animatronics’ penchant of mistaking humans for endoskeletons, causing them to “forcefully shove” individuals into animatronic suits.
The backstory of the main series contained in the original 2014 game is based on newspaper clippings and certain anecdotes revealed in recordings. The player discovers that a guy disguised as an animatronic suit is luring five youngsters to their deaths. Later, visitors complained that the animatronics smelled awful and were oozing odd fluids, prompting enthusiasts to speculate that the children’s bodies were concealed within the animatronics.
Three Nights at Freddy’s
The third game in the series deviates somewhat from the previous games. Set around 30 years after the events of the first FNAF (around 2023), players are assigned to work as security guards at the horror attraction “Fazbear’s Fright” during the night shift. Fazbear’s Fright workers learn how to control animatronic suits as costumes, however subsequent cassette recordings prohibit employees from utilizing the suits following a “unfortunate occurrence at a sister establishment.”
This game also employs post-death minigames, finally displaying the dead children supposedly exacting vengeance on their perpetrator by encircling him and forcing him to hide in an animatronic, where he is crushed and dies.
Springtrap, who is thought to be possessed by the late William Afton, and other apparitions of past animatronics that cannot physically hurt the player are the only corporeal animatronics in FNAF3.
Simulator of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria
In Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator, players take on the role of new franchise owners of a Fazbear Entertainment restaurant, entrusted with outfitting of the business for a huge celebration on Saturday. Before addressing the evenings from the security office in conventional FNAF way, players may recover animatronics and modify their restaurant layout.
The voice on the cassette recordings says that this place was established in an effort to draw the existing Fazbear animatronics into a central spot in order to kill them all after the final night. The game shows a cinematic of the pizzeria burning down with the animatronics trapped inside, then fades off as the fire burns the structure and its contents.
Security Vulnerability in Five Nights at Freddy’s
Except for one ending, which establishes that Pizzeria Simulator is earlier, it’s unknown when the events of the latest edition, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach, take place. The events are clearly after 2023, and enthusiasts assume that they take place between 2024 and 2029. Players take on the role of Gregory, a little child who has managed to remain inside Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex after it has closed and is being pursued by roving animatronics. Security Breach has various endings, one of which leads to players discovering the burning remnants of the pizzeria from Pizzeria Simulator, validating the sequence of events surrounding the two games.
Since the release of the first Five Nights at Freddy’s in 2014, the chronology and narrative have expanded dramatically. Fans have speculated and created hundreds of interpretations of the chronology, including side games, fan games, and more. However, for the time being, the creators have approved just the seven major games and a few supplementary items (including books) as official.
