You’ve seen the thumbnail. It’s usually a crusty, high-contrast image of a withered animatronic—maybe Springtrap, maybe a freakish fusion of Freddy Fazbear—with glowing red eyes and the bold, dripping text: FNAF This Is the End. It looks official. It feels heavy. For a split second, your heart jumps because you think Scott Cawthon finally dropped the nuclear option on the franchise.
But then you click.
And it’s a fan film. Or a song. Or, more likely, a clickbait "theory" video that recycles the same three lore points we've known since 2016. The reality of the Five Nights at Freddy's fandom is that we are obsessed with the "end," yet the series simply refuses to die. It’s a paradox. We want closure, but we also want more. This specific phrase—FNAF This Is the End—has become a sort of digital ghost, haunting YouTube search bars and TikTok feeds for years without ever actually pointing to a single, definitive piece of media.
The Viral Origin of a Non-Existent Game
Let’s be real for a second. There is no official game titled FNAF This Is the End. If you’re looking for a Steam page or a PlayStation Store link, stop. You won't find it.
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The phrase gained massive traction primarily through the Five Nights at Freddy's song community and high-production fan animations. Most notably, creators like NateWantsToBattle or various SFM (Source Filmmaker) artists have used this dramatic titling to signal a "finale" to their specific creative projects. Because the actual lore is so convoluted, fans often create their own "ending" to find the peace the games won't give them.
It’s basically digital folklore.
Think back to the FNAF 3 days. When that "Ending" screen popped up with the heads of the original animatronics—the ones with the lights turned off—everyone thought, "Okay, that's it. It's over." We were so wrong. Then FNAF 6 (Pizzeria Simulator) happened, and Henry Emily gave that legendary monologue about the "smoke and the pit." That felt like the true end. But then came Security Breach, Help Wanted 2, and the upcoming Secret of the Mimic.
The "End" is a moving target.
Why We Keep Falling for the Clickbait
It’s about the stakes. FNAF thrives on the idea of a final reckoning. When a video titled FNAF This Is the End pops up, it taps into that deep-seated need for the Afton family saga to finally resolve.
Honestly, the SEO behind this phrase is genius and frustrating. Content creators know that "The End" is a high-volume search term. By slapping it on a video about a new DLC or a movie leak, they hijack the emotional weight of a series finale. It’s a bit dirty. But it works. You clicked, didn't you?
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The community's "hoax culture" is also to blame. Remember the "Purple Guy" animatronic rumors? Or the fake teasers for a "FNAF 5" that looked like a factory? This is just the modern version of that. Instead of a fake image on a forum, it’s a 10-minute video with a dramatic title that implies the franchise is shutting down or the story is being deleted.
The Real Endings vs. The Fan Endings
If you want to talk about actual endings, we have to look at the "Happiest Day" minigame. For many purists, that is the only ending that matters. The souls are freed, the masks fall, and the balloon floats away. Simple. Beautiful.
But then you have the modern era.
The FNAF This Is the End sentiment often surfaces when a major creator leaves the space. When Scott Cawthon announced his "retirement" (which ended up being more of a step back into a creative director role), the internet went into a tailspin. People started using the keyword to signal the death of the franchise. Yet, here we are in 2026, and the brand is arguably bigger than it was during the indie era.
What the "End" Looks Like in 2026
- The Movie Universe: The films are creating a parallel ending that might actually have a stopping point, unlike the games.
- The Mimic Era: We’ve moved past Afton (mostly). The "End" of the old story has already happened; we’re just in the messy epilogue now.
- Fan Projects: This is where the title lives on. Massive projects like The Joy of Creation or Kane Carter’s work often feel more like a "Final" FNAF experience than the official releases.
How to Spot a Fake "Final" Announcement
It’s easy to get swept up in the hype. But if you see FNAF This Is the End trending, run it through a quick reality check. https://www.google.com/search?q=ScottGames.com (even if it's mostly blank these days) and the official Steel Wool Studios Twitter are the only places where a real "end" would ever be announced.
If the video has a thumbnail of a character that looks like it was made in a blender by a teenager, it’s not real. If the voiceover is a generic AI voice or a guy screaming about "everything changing," it's not real.
The Fazbear Fanverse Initiative has blurred these lines, though. Since Scott is officially funding and "blessing" certain fan games, a project could technically be titled something like this and be "official-adjacent." But so far, that hasn't happened.
What You Should Actually Do Next
Instead of chasing the ghost of a final game that doesn't exist, focus on the high-quality projects that actually provide closure. If you're looking for that "This is the end" feeling, re-watch the ending of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator. It remains the most poignant, well-written conclusion to the original arc.
- Verify the Source: Check the developer's official social media before believing a "Franchise is ending" headline.
- Support the Fanverse: If you want a definitive ending, look into the Five Nights at Candy’s or Popgoes series; they often have much tighter narrative conclusions.
- Ignore the Countdown Clocks: Unless it's on a site you know for a fact belongs to Scott Cawthon or Steel Wool, it’s just a fan-made hype machine.
The truth is, FNAF will likely never have a "This is the End" moment as long as it remains profitable. It’s the new Resident Evil or Halloween. It will be rebooted, remade, and extended until the sun burns out. And honestly? Most of us are okay with that. We’ll keep clicking the "End" videos, half-hoping for an answer and half-hoping the nightmare never actually stops.