Five Nights at Freddy’s is a nightmare. Honestly, it’s not even just the jump-scares anymore. The real terror is trying to figure out all fnaf games in order without losing your mind. Scott Cawthon, the guy who started this whole thing back in 2014, basically built a house out of red herring bricks and then set it on fire.
The story isn't told; it's excavated. You’re basically a digital archaeologist digging through 8-bit mini-games and hidden source code.
Most people start by looking at the release dates. That’s the easy way. But if you want to understand why a haunted animatronic bear is chasing a security guard through a mall in 2024, you have to look at the narrative chronology too. It’s messy. It’s weird. It involves a lot of purple.
The Original Trilogy: Where the Panic Started
In 2014, the first game dropped. It was simple. You sat in a room. You looked at cameras. You prayed the power didn't run out. Five Nights at Freddy's (FNAF 1) introduced us to Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy. It felt like a standalone indie hit, but the lore was already bubbling under the surface. We heard about the "Bite of '87." We heard about missing children. It was spooky, but manageable.
Then came Five Nights at Freddy's 2. This is where Scott Cawthon pulled the rug out from everyone.
Even though it’s called "2," it’s actually a prequel. You can tell because the paycheck at the end is dated 1987. The "Withered" versions of the original bots are sitting in parts and service while shiny new "Toy" versions roam the halls. This game introduced the Puppet and the first real glimpses of the "Purple Guy" through those cryptic, Atari-style mini-games. It expanded the roster and the stress levels.
Five Nights at Freddy's 3 jumped way forward into the future. It’s set 30 years after the first game shut down. You’re in Fazbear’s Fright, a horror attraction based on the urban legends of the original murders. There’s only one real animatronic here—Springtrap. He’s gross. He’s literally a rotting suit with a corpse inside. This was supposed to be the end. The souls were freed. The building burned.
But it wasn't the end. Obviously.
The Afton Family Saga and the Shift to 8-Bit Horror
Five Nights at Freddy's 4 changed the perspective entirely. No more security cameras. You’re a kid in a bedroom. You have to listen for breathing at the doors. It’s terrifying because it’s intimate. This game is widely believed to take place in 1983, making it the earliest point in the timeline (mostly). It shows the "Bite of '83," where a child's head was crushed by Fredbear. This event basically kicked off the tragedy that defines the whole series.
Then we got Sister Location. This one was weird. It moved away from the "sit and survive" mechanic and turned into a linear, narrative-driven experience. You’re in an underground bunker. Circus Baby is talking to you. It’s high-tech, which is confusing because it’s supposed to be an older facility. We find out about William Afton’s "experiments" and his daughter, Elizabeth.
A Quick Note on the "In-Between" Games
Scott started experimenting here.
- FNAF World: A colorful RPG that people hated at first, then kind of liked, then mostly ignored. It’s not "mainline," but it has weird lore ties to the "Clock Ending."
- Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator (FNAF 6): It looks like a tycoon game. It isn't. It’s the actual finale to the Afton story. You lure all the remaining possessed animatronics into one spot and burn them all. Including yourself. Henry Emily’s final monologue in this game is arguably the best writing in the entire franchise.
The Modern Era: Steel Wool and VR
When Scott Cawthon teamed up with Steel Wool Studios, the scale exploded. Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted brought the horror to VR. It’s meta. The game acknowledges that "Fazbear Entertainment" is a real company trying to cover up their reputation by making a VR game about their "accidents." This introduced Glitchtrap—a digital virus version of William Afton. Death is never permanent in these games.
Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach was the biggest departure. It’s an open-world (well, open-mall) survival game. You play as Gregory, a kid stuck in the Mega Pizzaplex. You’re hunted by Vanny and the Glamrock animatronics. It was buggy at launch, honestly. Really buggy. But it added a layer of personality to the robots that we hadn't seen before. Freddy is actually your friend here.
Then came the DLC, RUIN. It’s darker, grittier, and answers some questions while raising fifty more. It introduces "The Mimic," a new antagonist that might change how we view the previous games entirely.
Tracking All FNAF Games in Order of Release
If you just want to play them as they came out, here is the roadmap. No frills.
- Five Nights at Freddy's (2014)
- Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (2014)
- Five Nights at Freddy's 3 (2015)
- Five Nights at Freddy's 4 (2015)
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location (2016)
- Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator (2017)
- Ultimate Custom Night (2018) – This is basically "Hell" for the series' antagonist. 50+ animatronics. Absolute chaos.
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted (2019)
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Special Delivery (2019) – An AR mobile game that's mostly defunct now but had some lore bits.
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach (2021)
- Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2 (2023)
There are also spin-offs like Freddy in Space 2 and Fury's Rage, but those are mostly Scott having fun with the community. You don't need them to understand the "Remnant" or the "Agony" concepts.
📖 Related: Finding the Resultados Loteria de NJ Without Losing Your Mind
The Timeline Problem: What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest mistake is assuming the timeline is a straight line. It’s more like a ball of yarn that a cat shredded.
For instance, many fans argue about when Sister Location happens. Is it before FNAF 2? After FNAF 1? The technology looks futuristic, but the characters suggest it’s early on. MatPat (The Game Theorists) and YouTubers like Markiplier or Dawko have spent years debating this. There is no "official" timeline document. Scott enjoys the mystery too much to give us a definitive answer.
Another misconception: the movies. The FNAF Movie (2023) is its own thing. It’s a separate continuity. Don't try to fit Josh Hutcherson's Mike Schmidt into the game timeline perfectly. You'll get a headache. The books (Fazbear Frights and Tales from the Pizzaplex) are also a point of contention. Some stories are canon to the games; some are just "parallels." It’s exhausting.
Why Does It Still Matter?
Why are people still obsessed with all fnaf games in order ten years later?
It’s the community. The "FNAF era" of YouTube created a specific kind of collaborative storytelling. We aren't just playing a game; we're solving a puzzle that feels like it has no edges. The jump-scares get you the first time, but the lore keeps you for a decade.
If you’re looking to dive in now, start with the first game. It’s short. It’s cheap. It teaches you the basic rhythm of fear. From there, follow the release order. Trying to play in "chronological" order for your first time is a mistake because you’ll miss the references and the "Aha!" moments that the sequels provide.
Your Next Steps into the Pizzeria
To truly grasp the scope of the series, stop looking for a single "correct" answer. Instead, engage with the narrative layers as they were revealed.
- Play FNAF 1-4 first. This is the "Scott Era" where the core mystery was established.
- Watch the "Insanity Ending" of Pizzeria Simulator. It contains the most lore-dense dialogue in the franchise.
- Read the 'Tales from the Pizzaplex' books if you want to understand who the "Mimic" is before playing Security Breach: Ruin.
- Check out the fan-made "Fazbear Fanverse" projects like Five Nights at Candy's or The Joy of Creation. Scott actually officially supports these now, which is a huge deal for indie gaming.
The franchise isn't slowing down. With Help Wanted 2 expanding the VR lore and more movies on the horizon, the list of games is only going to grow. Just remember: stay off the cameras unless you absolutely need them. Power is a luxury you can't afford.