In the rapid movement to create everything online, video games have seen a massive increase. More and more people have been replacing old-fashioned games like chess and checkers with online games like Fortnite and Minecraft. The move is not necessarily a bad thing, because entertainment has always been rapidly evolving.
Over the years, an increase in quality, graphics, design, and story building have drawn more and more people to playing video games. And some people start at a really young age, having access to the internet through iPads and other devices makes it easy for children to navigate.
In the online world, there have been a few games that have really stuck with millions of people. Many games get good reviews, but only a few really stick out. One of those games is the Five Nights at Freddy’s game series. The first game released on August 8th, 2014, by the creator known as Scott Cawthon. There are 9 official main games in the series, with a 10th coming soon, and several spinoffs (both fan made and not). The series has also seen dozens of books made, as well as the first movie, which saw its release on October 27th, 2023.
If you grew up with the development of the internet, it would’ve been hard to miss the rapid growth of the series. It’s been over 9 years since the first game released, and it has been continuing on ever since, with no apparent end in the future.
Now, why did the series become so popular? A franchise as massively developed as this, had to have a pretty good start, right?
The game has become popular for many reasons. The first game set a precedent for new horror; sitting and letting the terrifying horrors come to you. The player has limited ability and control as they go through the games, which is part of what made it so popular.
It also gained a lot of traction in its earliest days from several popular YouTubers who played the game. This is often given credit as to why the first game—and shortly after, the sequels—became so famous so fast. FNAF only skyrocketed in traction from there, with several games in the series rapidly expanding the lore and giving the audience new things to see and be afraid of.
Hundreds of fan-created games have only pushed the series further. No game in the history of the world has seen as many fan-made games as Five Nights at Freddy’s. Scott Cawthon himself has helped endorse some of these fangames, a project called the Fazbear Fanverse Initiative. The creator has done many good things to keep the series relevant, which is in part what helped keep people staying within the fandom.
Another thing that has made the games super successful is the lore. It’s unique in that it explored supernatural horror with jumpscares and a stationary feeling, and that it continues to have a rapidly expanding story. Though, it gets confusing once you get past the surface. The first game itself seemed straightforward enough: you’re a pizzeria worker who works the night shift to make sure nothing happens. As it turns out, though, these animatronics come to life at night, and present a threat to you as the player who monitors them through cameras.
Once you get past the basics of the game, it gets a lot more complicated. The Five Nights at Freddy’s series is notorious for its complex lore and storytelling. People from all over have developed large theories about the game (one of the most popular people is the YouTube channel The Game Theorists). You learn that several kids have gone missing through bits and pieces of clues in the games, and have presumably been stuffed into the animatronics. As the games go on, you learn more about the identities of the player, the children, and the man who made it all happen.
Talking about all of the aspects of the story would take a long time, so you can read up on it more here.
Because of the years-long hype over the games and the developing series, the movie that released a little earlier this year was a pretty big hit. It got pretty low ratings across professional movie reviewers, but the fans came together and talked about the movie en masse all across social media. FNAF was the center focus of so many different things across the internet, and the movie made everything come alive again.
In reality, the games, books, and other creations themselves are not among the absolute scariest you can find. Several other pieces of media are rated scarier, which is okay. FNAF didn’t need an overly scary basis, because its storytelling and content fueled the fire for the incredibly large fanbase it created.
Out of the depths of the internet, many people came together to share their love for these games, books, and the movie. Scott Cawthon had never been able to imagine how far his games would go. Because of the new type of horror the game created, it stood out. And millions of people all over the world came together and created a community that has been credited with helping develop the fame and the story building.
After the creation of the internet, video games have provided a new form of entertainment for millions of people. You don’t need to be a good gamer to enjoy most games, and Five Nights at Freddy’s is one of them. The game, like few others, gained a massive following in such a short time that it is credited as one of the most famous video games series in the world.
The impact the games left on the horror community and genre itself was also pretty significant. It gave a new feeling of hopelessness, because you sit and let the animatronics come to you. You can’t stop them.
Will a series as influential as Five Nights at Freddy’s see the light of day in the future? Only time will tell. But as it goes for horror, it’s not the only big influential game series to be created.
