Scott Cawthon has a habit of making us wait, then dropping a bombshell that resets everything we thought we knew about the timeline. Honestly, the announcement of Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic felt like one of those moments. People saw that pink bird and immediately started screaming about Toy Chica. They were wrong. It's actually a brand-new iteration of the character, Jackie, which looks like a proto-Chica or a carnival-themed predecessor that predates the 1980s aesthetic we're used to.
Chica Secret of the Mimic is more than just a skin swap; it’s a foundational shift for the franchise.
The trailer starts in what looks like a workshop or a basement. Dust everywhere. The lighting is that classic, suffocating FNAF yellow. Then you see it: a jack-in-the-box. When the crank turns, we don't get a cute toy. We get a glimpse into the 1970s origins of the Mimic program.
Steel Wool Studios is taking us back to 1979.
That date is massive. It places the game before the "Missing Children’s Incident" and potentially even before the opening of the original Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. We're looking at the era of Fall Fest. If you’ve been paying attention to the lore breadcrumbs in Help Wanted 2 and Security Breach, Fall Fest '79 is the "ground zero" everyone has been speculating about for years.
The Jackie vs. Chica Identity Crisis
Let's talk about the design because it’s weird. It’s unsettling in a way the polished "Glamrock" or even the grimy "Withered" animatronics aren't. This version of the character—often referred to by fans and teased in-game files as Jackie—has a porcelain-like finish. The mouth is wide. The teeth aren't just blocks; they look functional in a terrifying way.
Some people are still calling it Chica Secret of the Mimic, and while that's the search term everyone is using, it’s technically a different beast altogether. Jackie represents the Mimic's ability to take on any form. The "Mimic" isn't a single robot; it's a software and endoskeleton system designed to observe and replicate.
Why a clown-bird hybrid?
Back in the late 70s, the "Fazbear" brand hadn't fully consolidated into the four-piece band we know. They were experimenting. This was the era of traveling carnivals and localized entertainment. The Mimic was likely a tool used to save money on performers—why hire a dozen actors when one robot can mimic them all? That cost-cutting measure, typical of Fazbear Entertainment's corporate greed, is exactly what birthed the monster.
Why the 1979 Setting Changes Everything
The timeline is a mess. We know this. But 1979 is a specific anchor point. If Chica Secret of the Mimic takes place here, it means the Mimic was active before William Afton’s primary spree.
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Think about that.
It suggests that the "evil" in the franchise isn't just one man's madness. It’s a systemic failure of technology that was built to learn but had no moral compass. When the Mimic sees violence, it mirrors it. It doesn't understand "death" or "murder." It just understands "action" and "repetition."
The game appears to be moving away from the sprawling, neon-soaked malls of Security Breach and returning to a more claustrophobic, linear horror experience. Fans have been vocal. They wanted the "scary" back. Steel Wool seems to be listening by stripping away the safety nets. No more Freddy guarding you. No more wide-open bright spaces. Just you, a flashlight, and a machine that knows how to sound like your best friend.
Exploring the Fall Fest Connection
If you look closely at the teaser materials, the "Fall Fest" branding is everywhere. This isn't just a background detail. In the FNAF universe, Fall Fest is an event that ended in a catastrophic fire.
Fire is the recurring "reset" button in this series.
- FNAF 3 ended in a fire.
- Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator ended in a fire.
- The Security Breach "Burntrap" ending (though its canonicity is debated) involved fire.
By going back to the '79 fire, we're likely going to witness the first time the Mimic was "reborn" from the ashes. This explains why the Mimic in the modern era looks so charred and mismatched. It’s a survivor.
Gameplay Mechanics: What to Expect
Based on the VR roots of Steel Wool's recent projects, Secret of the Mimic is expected to leverage high-intensity environmental interaction. You won't just be clicking doors. You’ll be winding cranks. You’ll be hiding in actual spots where you have to hold your breath—literally, if they use the microphone sensing tech again.
The Mimic's primary "hook" is its voice.
In the books (Tales from the Pizzaplex), the Mimic uses the voices of victims to lure others. Expect the gameplay to mess with your audio. You might hear a teammate, a child, or a familiar character like Gregory or Vanessa calling for help. If you move toward it, you’re dead.
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It’s psychological.
It's not just a jump scare. It's the feeling of being hunted by something that is smarter than you. The "Chica" variant we see in the box is just one "costume." The Mimic likely has a closet full of these skins.
The Endoskeleton Evolution
The Mimic’s endoskeleton is the most sophisticated piece of hardware in the lore. Unlike the springlock suits, which were death traps for humans, the Mimic endo is a death trap for reality. It can expand, contract, and fit into suits that shouldn't be able to hold a robot.
In Chica Secret of the Mimic, we will likely see the "version 1" of this hardware. It will be clunkier. It will squeal. It will have exposed wires and hydraulic fluid leaks. This adds a layer of "industrial horror" that the series has been missing lately.
Addressing the Common Misconceptions
There is a loud contingent of the community that believes the Mimic is a retcon. They think Scott Cawthon just made it up to replace William Afton because he didn't know how to keep Afton relevant.
That’s not quite right.
If you look at the older games, specifically the "glitches" and the weird behavior of the animatronics in FNAF 2, there have always been hints of a "learning" AI. The Mimic is the narrative bridge that connects the 70s to the 2020s. It’s the "virus" that has been present in the background the whole time.
Another myth? That this game is a Security Breach sequel.
It’s not. It’s a prequel. While it might explain things that happen in the future, your knowledge of Glamrock Freddy won't save you here. You're dealing with the ancestors of those machines. They are more primitive and, arguably, more dangerous because they lack the safety protocols of the modern era.
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How to Prepare for the Release
You need to catch up on the Tales from the Pizzaplex book series. Specifically the story "The Mimic." It lays out the origin of the program created by Edwin Murray. Without this context, the ending of the game will likely make zero sense to you.
The game is slated for a 2025 release.
Wait.
Actually, the development cycles for Steel Wool have been getting tighter. We might see a late 2024 surprise or a very early 2025 launch. Keep an eye on the Steam pages and the official ScottGames site. The "Secret" in the title suggests there is a meta-game involved—alternate reality gaming (ARG) elements are almost a certainty at this point.
Actionable Steps for FNAF Fans
Stop looking at the Mimic as a replacement for Afton and start looking at it as his legacy. If you want to stay ahead of the curve before Secret of the Mimic drops, do these three things:
- Re-watch the Help Wanted 2 "Princess Quest" ending. There is a specific hidden sprite that looks remarkably like the jack-in-the-box shown in the new teaser.
- Analyze the Fall Fest posters in the Dreadbear DLC. These posters from years ago literally predicted the setting of this new game. It shows the fire and the year 1979.
- Listen to the background audio of the teaser at 0.5x speed. There is a distorted mechanical voice that many theorists believe is the first recorded instance of the Mimic trying to speak human words.
The lore isn't just "given" to you in these games. You have to scrape it off the walls. Chica Secret of the Mimic is going to be a dark, grimy return to form that rewards the people who have been paying attention to the smallest details for the last decade.
The most important thing to remember is that in the FNAF world, nothing is ever "just" a toy. That jack-in-the-box isn't a surprise; it's a warning. We're finally going to see what happened when the music stopped for the first time.
Key Technical Details to Monitor:
- Platform Availability: Expected on PS5, PC, and potentially PSVR2.
- Engine: Unreal Engine 5 (indicated by the lighting and particle effects in the trailer).
- Developer: Steel Wool Studios in collaboration with Scott Cawthon.
- Timeline Placement: Circa 1979, the "Fall Fest" era.
Get ready to go back to where the nightmare actually started. It wasn't a pizza parlor. It was a carnival.