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107-464: Five Nights at Freddy's ( FNaF ) is a video game series and media franchise created by indie game developer Scott Cawthon . The franchise features ten main video games, several spin-off games, novels, and a film adaptation . The video game series follows a set of night guards and other characters that try to survive from midnight to 6 a.m. for five levels, called "nights", while fending off attacks from homicidal animatronic characters. Each game

214-519: A PlayStation 4 port released on March 31, 2021. The game's story follows the manager (implied to be Michael Afton) of a new Freddy Fazbear's restaurant run by the mysterious "Cassette Man". Every night, Michael, under Cassette Man's guidance, must salvage one of four decrepit animatronics that were found in the restaurant's back alley, including William / Springtrap (now referred to as "Scraptrap") and Elizabeth / Circus Baby (referred to as "Scrap Baby"). The game has multiple endings depending on how well

321-480: A gas leak . Mike is guided by HandUnit, an AI character similar to the Phone Guy of previous games. HandUnit instructs him about his job, often telling him to disregard safety; the animatronic Baby often gives instructions that contradicts that of HandUnit, but are vital to survival. The game also has a "custom night", in which the player can use mechanics reminiscent of the first game (such as interactive doors and

428-528: A "mature" edition after a decision to delay the game to make it more kid-friendly . The download link led to a clone of Cawthon's previous game, Sit 'N Survive . Sister Location was released for Microsoft Windows on October 7, 2016, followed by ports for Android on December 22, 2016, and iOS on January 3, 2017, respectively. It was also released on Nintendo Switch in North America on June 18, 2020, and on Xbox One on July 10, 2020. The PlayStation 4 port

535-399: A camera system) which were absent from the main game, except for a non-canonical ending, titled the "Fake Ending". New minigames are also available, describing Michael's fate after the events of the main game. A cutscene is shown after the "Golden Freddy" custom-night preset, in which Michael speaks to his father, William Afton/Springtrap, in a foreboding way. In June 2017, Cawthon hinted at

642-410: A character called Mike Schmidt, who begins working as a night security guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, where the animatronics move at night and supposedly kill anyone they see by stuffing them into a spare animatronic suit. Schmidt is guided by the previous night guard, known as Phone Guy, who assists them in their defense against the animatronics through pre-recorded telephone messages until his death in

749-405: A clown-like animatronic named Baby from an upcoming game titled Sister Location . Several teaser images of different characters and hints at their origins followed. The trailer for the game was released on Cawthon's YouTube channel, with new animatronics and a new location. The release date was announced as October 7, 2016. Cawthon made a prank release of the game on October 5, apparently releasing

856-444: A day shift. A newspaper shown upon the night's completion announces the restaurant's closure, stating that the newly redesigned animatronics will be scrapped, but their older counterparts will be saved for an eventual reopening. On the seventh "custom night", the player controls a new character named Fritz Smith. Upon completing this night, Smith is fired. On September 13, 2014, Five Nights at Freddy's developer Scott Cawthon posted

963-485: A franchise can even be created, which ultimately leads to the creation of brand worlds. Since the creation of Disneyland in 1955, bringing fictional media franchises to life through the theme parks slowly became increasingly popular as the way to perfectly blend tourism and real-life involvement with media itself. Similar to transmedia, the concept of bringing fictional media into a non-fictional space where fans can immerse themselves in real-life versions of elements from

1070-422: A horror attraction based on the long-gone Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. The player must defend themselves from the deteriorated animatronic-costume hybrid named Springtrap. Burnt and tattered hallucinations of some of the animatronics from the previous two games appear; and although they cannot kill the player, they can hinder ventilation, sound, and camera systems. Failure to maintain the systems can create many issues for

1177-486: A mask that looks like one of the animatronics allows the player to avoid being detected in most cases, though some animatronics are repelled via other methods. If the player is detected, they will be jumpscared and experience a game over . As the game progresses, Atari -styled minigames and phone calls provide insight into the history of the restaurant. Cawthon teased Five Nights at Freddy's 2 in September 2014. It

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1284-486: A minigame involving a new animatronic, which offers the player a two-hour skip in the next night for completing the minigame. An elevated control pad is introduced for Sister Location , which can light a room or shock the animatronics. Other mechanics include a second control pad in a breaker room, which controls power to the facility and a flash beacon , which allows the player to see in the dark Funtime Auditorium (a party room) and avoid its animatronic. Sister Location

1391-462: A mixed critical reception, with praise for its storytelling and atmosphere but criticism for its gameplay. It has achieved significant commercial success, with merchandise available internationally. The franchise has also garnered a cult following that produces fan media inspired by it. The concept for Five Nights at Freddy's stemmed from the negative reception of Scott Cawthon's earlier game, Chipper & Sons Lumber Co. , where players said that

1498-424: A modeling agency, several television shows ( Playboy's Penthouse , in 1959), and even its own television channel . Twenty-five years later, Playboy released private clubs and restaurants, movie theaters, a radio show , direct to video films, music and book publishing (including original works in addition to its anthologies of cartoons, photographs, recipes, advice, articles or fiction that had originally appeared in

1605-416: A monitor panel, which contains audio, camera, and ventilation. The player must keep certain systems from malfunctioning. These malfunctions can be triggered randomly or by the hallucinations of the animatronics from the first and second games. The ability to seal vents is also added and must be used to prevent the sole tangible animatronic from entering the office. The player can use an audio-based function on

1712-408: A multi-book deal with Scholastic in 2016, which began with The Silver Eyes , released on Amazon Kindle on December 17, 2015 and in paperback on September 27, 2016. This was followed by two additional novels, The Twisted Ones and The Fourth Closet , published in 2017 and 2018, respectively. The Five Nights at Freddy's series consists of psychological horror-themed video games in which the player

1819-448: A night security guard who must complete their shift without being caught by the homicidal animatronic characters that wander through the building. The player character sits alone in an office which they cannot leave. They have access to a network of security cameras which can be used to track the movement of the animatronics throughout the restaurant. The office has three entrances; a center hallway and two side air vents. Unlike with

1926-406: A night, and how active the characters will be. Help Wanted combines the gameplay of every other game, and turns into a virtual experience for the player. It also introduces several other minigames, in which the gameplay is variant, and also at times has free-roam . Special Delivery features location-based augmented reality gameplay. The player can switch on their camera, and the footage itself

2033-452: A number of elements with Five Nights at Freddy's 3 , including the importance of ventilation and the ability to distract animatronics with sound. Ultimate Custom Night is a customizable night, in which fifty animatronics are present and have a maximum AI level of twenty. The game includes many mechanics from the previous games, such as the heater, fan, music box, and power generator. The player can choose which characters they want active for

2140-400: A number of older animatronics were outfitted with this technology and are kept onsite for spare parts. As the game progresses, the employee reveals that the restaurant is being subject to a police investigation. The Atari-styled minigames provide insight into the restaurant's troubled past, implying that it was the site of the murder of multiple children by an unnamed purple-colored figure. On

2247-402: A single screen with shrill, distorted audio; these jump scares usually close, restart, or freeze the game. The player must use various tools to prevent being attacked via jump scares and advance through each game. In the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, and ninth games, the player gains access to a series of (predominantly eight-bit) minigames randomly after death, or after completing

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2354-403: A specific task. The minigames usually relate to a story or event relevant to the game, in a cryptic manner. The minigames in the second game portray homicides mentioned by another worker of the restaurant, and the reason of the animatronics gaining life. The minigames in the third game show the story behind Springtrap's creation. Minigames in the fourth game tell the story of a character who dies in

2461-468: A spin-off game titled FNaF World , launched in January 2016. Cawthon used Clickteam Fusion 2.5 for game development and Autodesk 3ds Max for 3D graphics, enhancing later titles with professional voice actors and original soundtracks. For Help Wanted and Security Breach , Cawthon worked with game development company Steel Wool Studios. In 2015, Cawthon expanded the franchise into literature, announcing

2568-404: A teaser image for a sequel to the original on his webpage. In October 2014, a trailer was launched and the game was posted onto Steam Greenlight, with a demo being available shortly afterwards. Five Nights at Freddy's 2 was released on November 11, 2014 for Windows through Steam, ahead of the planned release date of December 25. Ports for Android and iOS were released on November 12 and 20 of

2675-545: A total of fifty animatronics from previous games, which allows the player to determine how aggressive they are during the night (similar to the custom nights in earlier games). The player can select the office to play in, unlock cutscenes , and choose from 16 themed game modes available. Although unconfirmed, it has been heavily speculated that the game takes place in some version of Hell or Purgatory , where William Afton, following his death in Pizzeria Simulator ,

2782-420: A tragic accident. There is only one minigame in the fifth game, which depicts the death of animatronic engineer William Afton's daughter. The minigames in the sixth game depict various events in the series, all connected to Afton. In the mobile version of the eighth game, the player can access a minigame called "Princess Quest", which depicts the origins of a character called Vanny; a recreation of these minigames

2889-498: Is No Pause Button! , in which the main character is depicted wearing the Freddy animatronic head. Five Nights at Freddy's 3 was released for Microsoft Windows on March 3, 2015, with Android and iOS ports following on March 7 and 12, respectively. PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch console ports were released on November 29, 2019. Set thirty years after the events of the first game, its main character works at Fazbear's Fright,

2996-405: Is also featured in the ninth game, with some significant additions. The Five Nights at Freddy's series mainly revolves around a chain of family restaurants under the ownership of Fazbear Entertainment, a company founded by Henry Emily and William Afton. The latter is a robotics engineer who creates a series of animatronic mascots to entertain customers, including Freddy Fazbear, a brown bear and

3103-445: Is an unknown and unnamed child who has delusions of being attacked by nightmarish versions of the first game's animatronic characters. The player must defend themselves with a flashlight and doors. The game's story is told through minigames, in which an unnamed young boy is bullied by his older brother because of his irrational fear of a restaurant with a yellow animatronic bear and rabbit called Fredbear and Spring Bonnie, respectively. He

3210-485: Is being continuously tortured by the vengeful spirit of one of his victims. However, the anthology novel series Fazbear Frights implies that the game is actually Afton's repeating nightmare, and not hell or purgatory. This comes from the fifth book, Bunny Call , which has a story called "The Man in Room 1280" where a burned man is kept alive by a shadow child despite the fact that he should be dead and suffers nightmares. In

3317-422: Is guided by a plush version of Fredbear, whom the boy imagines can speak to him when he is alone. The child appears to be ultimately killed by Fredbear in a freak accident. The game had a Halloween update with "nightmare" versions of animatronics from Five Nights at Freddy's 2 and Halloween-themed reskins for Nightmare Bonnie and Nightmare Chica. On April 23, 2016, Cawthon posted a teaser image on his website of

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3424-401: Is near. Vents are featured in the second, third, sixth, and eighth games, as a medium through which animatronics can get to the player. Both doors and vents are again present in the fake ending and custom night update of the fifth game with the same function. Vents are also present in the fifth and ninth games as means for the player to travel through, rather than the animatronics. Every game in

3531-415: Is set in a different location connected to a fictional family pizza restaurant franchise named "Freddy Fazbear's Pizza". The core gameplay mechanic involves using tools effectively and managing limited resources to avoid being caught by the animatronics. Cawthon conceived the idea for the first video game after his family-friendly resource management game, Chipper & Sons Lumber Co. , was criticized for

3638-484: Is the Japanese term for a transmedia franchise. The term media mix gained its circulation in late 1980s and is first used to describe adaptations of Sakyo Komatsu 's Japan Sinks , but the origins of the strategy can be traced back to the 1960s with the proliferation of anime , with its interconnection of media and commodity goods. Some of the earlier popular Japanese franchises such as Vampire Hunter D in

3745-546: Is the game's background. The animatronics will try to attack corresponding to the environment. The animatronics generally have cloaking , which leads them to being invisible. Security Breach holds the open-world aspect to this title allows players to experience a new level of immersion, similar to that of Five Night's at Freddy's 4 . Players will also have access to a nifty tool called the Faz-Watch, which allows them to view maps, read messages picked up from random areas on

3852-454: Is the only game where the player can move between rooms. Pizzeria Simulator has business-style gameplay, and the player must spend in-game money to buy features for their pizzeria. A series of minigames can be played by testing the establishment's attractions. After the player has completed this portion of the game, they complete tasks in a room and fend off hostile, previously salvaged animatronics. The gameplay of Pizzeria Simulator shares

3959-475: Is the second installment in the Five Nights at Freddy's series. Set in a fictional pizzeria, the player takes on the role of night security guards Jeremy Fitzgerald and Fritz Smith, defending themselves from the restaurant's hostile animatronic mascots. The player cannot leave their office, but has access to a flashlight and security cameras throughout the restaurant to monitor animatronic activity. Wearing

4066-459: Is trapped and tormented in a personalized hell with all animatronics he created. Years later, Fazbear Entertainment is re-founded and releases an in-universe virtual reality experience based on the past of the restaurant, in an effort to convince the public the company's previous controversies were merely fiction, while also constructing a new location, the Pizzaplex. Five Nights at Freddy's

4173-399: Is usually a night-time employee at a location connected with Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, a fictional children's restaurant that takes inspiration from family pizza chains like Chuck E. Cheese and ShowBiz Pizza Place . The restaurant has life-size animatronic characters resembling anthropomorphic animals that perform on a show stage, usually for children's parties, but leave their posts and wander

4280-491: The fantasy and science fiction genres. Similarly, fantasy, science fiction films and television shows are frequently adapted into animated television series , video games, or both. A media franchise does not have to include the same characters or theme, as the brand identity can be the franchise, like Square Enix 's Final Fantasy or the National Lampoon series , and can suffer from critical failures even if

4387-474: The previous game , none of the office entrances can be sealed off, and the animatronics can enter unimpeded. The animatronics include remodeled versions of Freddy, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy from the first game, their decrepit counterparts, and two new characters called the Puppet and Balloon Boy. The player can shine a flashlight on animatronics through the camera feeds to slow them down temporarily, use lights at

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4494-423: The 1980s and Pokémon in the late 1990s, acted as benchmarks in the country's transmedia dominance. The latter in particular began as a video game available on Nintendo 's Game Boy , and crossed through the media of television, film, news, and other non-media related realms, such trading cards, merchandise, and more. A number of Japanese media franchises have gained considerable global popularity, and are among

4601-507: The accidental death of his own daughter, Elizabeth. William's direct murder victims start with his co-worker Henry's daughter and expand to include five children visiting the restaurants with their families. Meanwhile, an incident involving William's youngest son being shoved into Fredbear's mouth by his older brother Michael results in the closure of Fredbear's Family Diner, a predecessor location. After accidentally murdering his brother, Michael begins seeking redemption, starting with recovering

4708-419: The adjacent hallways as a barrier against animatronics in the vicinity. Each night, the player has a power supply that depletes faster when a tool is used. If the power goes out, the player can no longer use any tools and is defenseless against the animatronics unless a shift ends before main animatronic Freddy Fazbear can attack. Five Nights at Freddy's 2 has different tools; there are no protective doors, and

4815-411: The air vents to check if any are about to sneak in, and avoid being detected by most characters by wearing an animatronic mask. The mask does not work on Foxy or the Puppet, and the player is incapable of accessing the cameras while wearing it. The flashlight must be repeatedly shone into the center hallway to ward off Foxy, and the Puppet is subdued by a music box that must be constantly wound up using

4922-415: The animatronic, becoming a bionic revenant called Springtrap. Some time after, the whole restaurant chain shuts down. Thirty years later, a horror attraction based on the restaurant chain known as Fazbear's Fright is constructed and leads to Springtrap's excavation; a fire destroys the attraction before it can open to the public. The destruction frees the souls of William's first five victims and destroys

5029-401: The animatronics from the first game, which are depicted in a deteriorated state, the game features several new antagonists, who can be fended off using different tactics. The explanation given for the animatronics' behavior during the game is similar to the one from the first Five Nights at Freddy's . The protagonist is a new character, Jeremy Fitzgerald, who is promoted to daytime security after

5136-421: The animatronics, with limited power to use their tools. Various hints and clues imply that, contrary to Phone Guy's explanation, the mobility and hostility of the animatronics results from them being possessed by the vengeful souls of children who were killed at the restaurant. Mike is fired from his job after the seventh night for tampering with the animatronics, body odor, and unprofessionalism. Shortly after

5243-399: The atmosphere, story, and jumpscares while criticizing the game's difficulty . The third game in the series, Five Nights at Freddy's 3 , was released on March 2, 2015. A film adaptation by Blumhouse Productions is in development, which is scheduled for release on December 5th, 2025. Five Nights at Freddy's 2 is a point-and-click survival horror game. Players take on the role of

5350-508: The bed behind them. At the doors, the player must listen for animatronics' breathing, which can determine whether they are near. If the player hears breathing at the side doors, they close the door and wait for the animatronics to walk away. If they open the doors too early, however, the animatronics jump scare the player. The player must also prevent small animatronics from accumulating on their bed, and prevent an animatronic from entering their closet. Five Nights at Freddy's 4 also introduces

5457-459: The camera feed. The power supply for camera and vent light use is unlimited, but this does not apply to the flashlight; if its battery runs out, the player becomes vulnerable. The player character is killed if they are caught by an animatronic, except for Balloon Boy, who only disables the flashlight. After the player dies and receives a game over , there is a chance that an Atari-style minigame will appear. These minigames provide insight into

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5564-423: The cameras, which triggers a childlike voice to lure Springtrap, the game's only physical animatronic possessed by William Afton's spirit, away from the office. The 8-bit minigames return and are playable after each night if the player completes side tasks such as clicking on a poster or inputting a code into a wall. If the player completes the minigames, they unlock a secret ending. In Five Nights at Freddy's 4 ,

5671-478: The day-in-the-life episodes of the many different Real Housewives series. Documentaries and docuseries are other highlights of the non-fiction branch of media franchises, such as the popular Planet Earth series, which serves as both a film and television transmedia franchise. Five Nights at Freddy%27s 2 Five Nights at Freddy's 2 ( FNaF 2 ) is a 2014 point-and-click survival horror game developed and published by Scott Cawthon . It

5778-434: The development of a sixth main game in the series. On July 2, 2017, he announced his decision to cancel the game and said that he had been "neglecting other things in [his] life for the sake of trying to keep up with mounting expectations". On December 4, 2017, after teasing the game several days earlier, Cawthon released Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator as freeware on Steam. The game is a business-simulation game in which

5885-725: The fictional worlds they love, adds to the overall narrative the franchise creates through its other media. Marvel's Avenger's Campus park is one of the many franchise-based theme parks created in recent times, following the creation of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studio's Islands of Adventure and Star Wars' Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland and Disney World . Media franchises tend to cross over from their original media to other forms. Literary franchises are often transported to film, such as Nancy Drew , Miss Marple , and other popular detectives , as well as popular comic book superheroes . Television and film franchises are often expanded upon in novels , particularly those in

5992-470: The film The Matrix Reloaded and the video game Enter the Matrix were produced at the same time, using the same actors on the same sets, and released on the same day. Transmedia franchises occasionally release content through certain media that is not canon to the main or greater story that the franchise is built around, meaning that the elements of said content do not truly exist in the main timeline of

6099-467: The financial logic of cost-recovery for expensive productions by identifying that a single medium launch is a lost opportunity, the timeliness of the production and release is more important than its integrity, the releases should raise brand awareness and the cross-ability of the work is critical for its success. American Idol was a transmedia franchise from its beginnings, with the first season winner Kelly Clarkson signing with RCA Records and having

6206-434: The first game. TouchArcade felt that the game was superior to its predecessor, saying that it made new innovations on gameplay and improved the story. Destructoid said that the game fine-tuned the concepts presented in the original and added more. The atmosphere was praised. Gamezebo highlighted the sounds, jumpscares, and animatronics, saying they contributed to an overall scary game. PC Gamer said that

6313-607: The focus on the content of the commodity to "overlapping the commodity image with the character image". The book Anime's Media Mix: Franchising Toys and Characters in Japan, by Marc Steinberg, details the evolution of the media mix in Japan. Long-running franchises were common in the early studio era, when Hollywood studios had actors and directors under long-term contract. In such cases, even lead actors are often replaced as they age, lose interest, or their characters are killed. Spin-offs and adaptations of popular pieces of media within

6420-463: The following book, Blackbird , the epilogue confirms that the man is actually William Afton. Although it was never confirmed if the Fazbear Frights series is set in the same continuity as the games, Cawthon confirmed that it's supposed to reveal mysteries from the previous games. Media franchise A media franchise often consists of cross-marketing across more than one medium. For

6527-424: The fourth and seventh games, the battery life is infinite. In the eighth game, the flashlight battery varies depending on the game segment being played. Flashlight battery life is again finite in the ninth game, but can be recharged at various recharge stations throughout the game. In the first, fourth, seventh, eighth, and ninth games, doors are a means of defense for the player, and can be closed when an animatronic

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6634-453: The fourth night. He explains to Schmidt that the animatronics' mobility is a purposely programmed "free-roaming" mode to prevent the animatronics' servomotors from locking up. He also states that they see any human still in the restaurant as an animatronic endoskeleton without a suit. The player must survive from 12 a.m. to 6 am. The player cannot leave the room and must use a camera system and two doors with lights to defend themselves from

6741-433: The franchise's characters and settings. As one author explains, "For the studios, a home-run is a film from which a multimedia 'franchise' can be generated; the colossally expensive creation of cross-media conglomerates predicated on synergistic rewards provides an obvious imperative to develop such products." The trend later developed wherein franchises would be launched in multiple forms of media simultaneously; for instance,

6848-415: The franchise. Canon content often times breaks continuity, leading fans to speculate or seek to confirm which media are canon and which are not, which can get confusing if the franchise does not provide an answer themselves since entire media can be non-canon to the greater story, with a popular example occurring. On the other hand, specific episodes, volumes or parts of a series can be canon while others in

6955-462: The game had an excellent environment, and that Cawthon "further establishes his skills at crafting a truly frightening experience". Critics similarly praised the story. Destructoid equated the plot to a complex mystery, and highlighted the Atari-style mini games as intriguing and disturbing. TouchArcade found the plot to be satisfying, saying that was less subtle than the original game's, but

7062-403: The game's fifth night, Fitzgerald is informed by the staff member that the restaurant has been put on lockdown due to an unspecified incident. At the end of the fifth night, Fitzgerald receives a paycheck. On the sixth night, the employee explains that the restaurant has been temporarily shut down, and mentions that he plans to act as the new night security guard while Fitzgerald will be promoted to

7169-431: The gameplay occurs in a bedroom setting, and instead of being a nighttime security guard, the player takes the role of a small child who experiences nightmarish visions of the animatronics due to fearing their real-life counterparts. The player also no longer has access to a camera system. The player has four areas in the bedroom to monitor: two hallway doors on both sides of the room, the closet directly in front of them, and

7276-514: The horror and atmosphere. In a critical review, Nintendo Life noted that the number of tasks the player had to balance made Five Nights at Freddy's 2 stressful instead of scary, and made it feel worse than the original. The jumpscares were positively received, but some critics felt that they would become repetitive over time. Destructoid wrote that the jumpscares were effective, but would lose their horror if they were shown too frequently. Nintendo Life felt that they lost their appeal due to

7383-473: The magazine), footwear, clothing of every kind, jewelry, housewares (lamps, clocks, bedding, glassware), guitars and gambling, playing cards, pinball machines and pet accessories, billiard balls, bedroom appurtenances, enhancements, plus countless other items of merchandise. Non-fiction media franchises also exist in the television and film media, with reality TV being one of the most well-known examples; ranging from competition shows like The Amazing Race to

7490-595: The main character resembled a "scary animatronic animal." Initially discouraged by the criticism, Cawthon, who had predominantly created Christian-oriented games , leveraged this feedback to develop something intentionally frightening. Five Nights at Freddy's was released on August 8, 2014, via Desura , followed by a Steam release after gaining approval through the crowdsourcing platform Greenlight. The game rapidly gained popularity after being showcased by prominent YouTubers. The success of Five Nights at Freddy's led to multiple sequels released between 2014 and 2023, and

7597-412: The main series contains jump scares , which end a game in defeat as the animatronics are implied to attack the player off-screen. In most jump scares, an animatronic character suddenly appears in the player's view, followed by a loud screaming or roaring noise. Some jump scares, including those by Golden Freddy (in the first and seventh games), Nightmare, and Nightmarionette (in the fourth game), consist of

7704-419: The map, check security cameras for nearby danger, and look at their current objectives. It incorporates Freddy as a helpful companion throughout the game, though he has limited power and must be charged at stations through the map. Players can distract hostile animatronics by knocking things over to get their attention, while they can crouch and hide in various structures to evade them as they follow you throughout

7811-463: The map. Unlike other Five Nights games there are limited save points and there is only a single save station after 6 a.m. In the first, second, third, seventh, eighth, and ninth games, the player has a security-camera system, which observes the animatronic characters. One location can be viewed at a time, and some areas are not visible on the cameras. Most camera feeds are dull, sometimes almost black and white in color, and full of video noise . In

7918-400: The media fictional material is unrelated. Non-fiction literary franchises include the ...For Dummies and The Complete Idiot's Guide to... reference books . An enduring and comprehensive example of a media franchise is Playboy Enterprises , which began expanding well beyond its successful magazine, Playboy , within a few years after its first publication, into such enterprises as

8025-543: The namesake of Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, Bonnie, an indigo rabbit, Chica , a yellow chicken, and Foxy, a red pirate fox. Other notable animatronics include the Puppet, the ghostlike Golden Freddy, Freddy's predecessor Fredbear, and Circus Baby, the mascot of the restaurant's sister location, Circus Baby's Pizza World. William is also a negligent father and child murderer who hides his victims' bodies inside animatronics, which their souls inhabit; he specifically designs Circus Baby to be capable of murdering children, which leads to

8132-490: The original mascots, though Springtrap escapes. Some time after the fire, Henry lures Springtrap and all animatronics that were not destroyed in Fazbear's Fright into a single pizzeria. With help from Michael, Henry sets fire to the restaurant and destroys every animatronic inside, freeing the souls of the children that inhabited them, including Elizabeth. The fire also kills Henry, Michael, and William. Afterwards, William's soul

8239-433: The overarching story and narrative of the franchise itself. A connection between the characters, settings, and other elements of the media franchise do still exist within the different media, regardless of the fact that they are being presented in sometimes completely different ways, such as the shared, interweaving storylines and elements of Spider-Man films, television shows, comics and video games. Espen Aarseth describes

8346-490: The owners, the goal of increasing profit through diversity can extend the commercial profitability of the franchise and create strong feelings of identity and ownership in its consumers. Those large groups of dedicated consumers create the franchise's fandom , which is the community of fans that indulge in many of its media and are committed to interacting with and keeping up with other consumers. Large franchise-based fandoms have grown to be even more popular in recent years with

8453-403: The player must instead use an empty animatronic head and flashlight to defend themself against the animatronics. The game introduced a music box which must be remotely wound up on a regular basis to prevent an attack from a particular animatronic. Eight-bit mini-games were introduced, which are played randomly after death and give cryptic clues into the lore. Five Nights at Freddy's 3 uses

8560-465: The player runs a pizzeria, but frequently veers into the survival-horror vein of the series' other games. A mobile version for iOS and Android titled FNaF 6: Pizzeria Simulator was released on August 13, 2019. Unlike the PC version, the mobile release, which is developed and published by Clickteam LLC USA , is pay-to-play . A Nintendo Switch and Xbox One port was released on October 31, 2020, with

8667-419: The player runs the pizzeria and whether they salvaged all the animatronics, but the true ending has Cassette Man reveal himself as Henry Emily, William's former business partner, and set the restaurant on fire after revealing its real purpose as a trap to lure in the remaining animatronics. The restaurant burns to the ground, seemingly killing the player character, Henry, and all the animatronics, finally releasing

8774-452: The player's blind spots: the doorway or vent exit, respectively. The lights are similar in the fifth game, but are mounted on a control pad and illuminate the animatronics' rooms. The fifth game also introduced a flash beacon, which is used to orient the player in the third and fifth nights' pitch-black rooms. Several games include use of a flashlight. In the second game, the flashlight has a finite battery life and cannot be recharged, while in

8881-399: The player, including dysfunctional cameras and the inability to play audio to lure away the animatronic. The player receives guidance from a founder of the horror attraction for the first two nights and listens to old tape recordings which were found by the attraction's workers for the rest of the nights. The game has two endings: a "good" ending and a "bad" ending. The bad ending reveals that

8988-404: The plot. The game is divided into levels called nights, which last several minutes in real time and gradually increase in difficulty. Jeremy Fitzgerald has begun working as a night security guard at a new Freddy Fazbear's Pizza location. An unnamed staff member calls Fitzgerald on the phone each night to provide advice and information on the franchise's backstory. The employee explains that

9095-484: The popular Twilight book series that was adapted into the five films of The Twilight Saga . Other neologisms exist to describe various franchise types including metaseries , which can be used to describe works such as Isaac Asimov 's Foundation series . Multimedia franchises usually develop through a character or fictional world becoming popular in one medium, and then expanding to others through licensing agreements , with respect to intellectual property in

9202-415: The release of A Moment Like This becoming a #1 hit on Billboard Hot 100. The success resulted in a nationwide concert tour, an American Idol book that made the bestseller list and the film From Justin to Kelly . A transmedia franchise however is often referred to by the simpler term "media franchise". The term media franchise is often used to describe the popular adaptation of a work into films, like

9309-570: The release of the first game, Cawthon confirmed rumors about a sequel. He posted a teaser of the sequel on his website one month after the original game's release and continued to post teasers until the sequel's release. A trailer was released on October 21, 2014, introducing new animatronic characters and the absence of doors. Five Nights at Freddy's 2 was released for Microsoft Windows on November 10, 2014, earlier than its planned release of December 25. Ports for Android and iOS were released on November 13 and 20, 2014, respectively. A Windows Phone port

9416-405: The remains of his sister. After the closure of a Freddy Fazbear's Pizza location, William dismantles the remaining animatronics in a backroom, releasing the souls that inhabit them who proceed to torment him. Seeking refuge from the ghosts, William hides inside an old yellow rabbit animatronic suit. Shortly after, the suit's mechanisms fail and snap shut, crushing William to death as his soul inhabits

9523-488: The resemblance of its characters to frightening animatronics. Responding to this feedback, he developed a horror game that intentionally featured scary animatronics. Released in August 2014, the game's success prompted the development of sequels. Cawthon created most of the games himself using Clickteam Fusion but partnered with Steel Wool Studios to create an open-world game and a virtual reality anthology . The series has

9630-401: The restaurant at night; the guard's job is to watch over them and prevent them from attacking. The animatronics' mobility is stated in the first game to be necessary for them to continue functioning properly in the morning, though subsequent games reveal they are actually possessed by ghosts. In Five Nights at Freddy's , the player can control the two security doors connecting their office to

9737-413: The restaurant's animatronics feature facial recognition software connected to a criminal database, with the purpose of protecting children from potential harm. Despite these features, the robots were not programmed with a proper night mode; when they detect silence, they seek out the nearest source of noise to find people to entertain, which happens to be the security office. The caller further relates that

9844-428: The restaurant's troubled past, showing a purple figure killing multiple children. On the fifth night, the location is put on lockdown due to an unspecified event. At the end of the game, Jeremy receives a paycheck dated 1987, revealing that the events of the game take place before the first Five Nights at Freddy's , and the restaurant is closed, with a new location set to be opened elsewhere. On January 3, 2015, an image

9951-409: The rise of social media platforms, as many fans seek to interact with one another for discussion, debate and even to create their own fan-made pieces of media revolving around the franchise, on websites like tumblr , Reddit and Fandom . In the case of successful transmedia franchises, each different medium should expand the target demographic and fandom, build the interest of the consumers and add to

10058-525: The same medium are not, such as the fact that only some of the Battlestar Galactica comics are canon, with a large amount of them breaking the continuity of the main story. In Japanese culture and entertainment, media mix ( wasei-eigo : メディアミックス , mediamikkusu ) is a strategy to disperse content across multiple representations: different broadcast media , gaming technologies, cell phones, toys, amusement parks , and other methods. It

10165-495: The same year. Versions for Nintendo Switch , PlayStation 4 , and Xbox One were released on November 29, 2019 alongside the first, third, and fourth games. Following the success of the Five Nights at Freddy's film , an adaptation of Five Nights at Freddy's 2 is in production and is set to be released on December 5, 2025. Five Nights at Freddy's 2 received "mixed or average" reviews according to review aggregator website Metacritic . Some critics recommended it to fans of

10272-447: The sixth night, being replaced by Fritz Smith in the seventh night. During the game, Phone Guy from the previous game calls Jeremy to give him hints on how to survive each night while talking about the restaurant's history. During these calls, it is revealed that the restaurant has become the subject of a police investigation due to various rumors. It is also possible to access hidden Atari -styled minigames that provide further insight on

10379-476: The souls of the murdered children still haunt the animatronics. The good ending is reached by completing secret minigames in which animatronic characters bring a cake to what seems to be a sorrowful child's soul. After completing the secret minigames, the souls of the children are freed. On April 27, 2015, Cawthon began posting images on his website teasing another game in the series, which was originally titled Five Nights at Freddy's 4: The Final Chapter . A trailer

10486-493: The spirits haunting them. Ultimate Custom Night was originally intended to be a post-launch add-on to Pizzeria Simulator , but was eventually turned into a stand-alone game, releasing on June 27, 2018, as freeware . A mobile port for iOS and Android was released on April 28, 2020, and a console port for the PlayStation 4 , Xbox One , and Nintendo Switch was released on April 30, 2021. The customizable night contains

10593-399: The third game, the cameras stop working if their associated system fails. Cameras are used in the fifth game as a mechanic in the fake ending and custom night update, but not in the main game. In all games except for the third, lights are used to ward off animatronics or warn the player. Lights in the first, second, fifth, and eighth games are activated with buttons on the walls and illuminate

10700-477: The world's highest-grossing media franchises . For example, Pokémon 's penetration into the American market of the franchise along with others of Japanese origin, such as Yu-Gi-Oh! , gave rise to the recognition of what is variously called transmedia storytelling , crossmedia, transmediation , media synergy, etc. Researchers argue that the 1963 Tetsuwan Atomu marked a shift in Japanese marketing from

10807-429: Was also released, but was withdrawn for substandard graphics. PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch console ports were released on November 29, 2019. The gameplay is largely similar to its predecessor. Players must survive a night shift at the "new and improved" Freddy Fazbear's Pizza restaurant from 12 a.m. to 6 am, without being attacked by any of the animatronics that wander from room to room. In addition to

10914-450: Was released for Microsoft Windows on August 8, 2014, followed by ports for Android and iOS on August 27 and September 11, respectively. A Windows Phone version was also released, but was soon withdrawn due to its downscaled graphics. Ports for the PlayStation 4 , Xbox One , and Nintendo Switch were released on November 29, 2019, alongside separate releases for Five Nights at Freddy's 2 , 3 and 4 . The first game revolves around

11021-511: Was released for Windows via Steam on November 10, 2014, earlier than its planned release date of December 25. Ports for Android and iOS were released on November 12 and November 20 respectively that same year, and a Windows Phone version was launched on December 1. Versions for Nintendo Switch , PlayStation 4 , and Xbox One were released in November 2019. Five Nights at Freddy's 2 received mixed reviews from critics. Reviewers praised

11128-471: Was released in Europe and North America on July 21 and 22, 2020, respectively. The player character Michael Afton, nicknamed Mike (jokingly called Eggs Benedict), is a new employee of Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental (a sister company of Fazbear Entertainment that rents animatronics for children's parties). The animatronics were originally intended for Circus Baby's Pizza World, which never opened due to

11235-505: Was released on July 13, 2015, hinting that the game was set in the main character's house. Five Nights at Freddy's 4 was announced with a release date of October 31, 2015. It was pushed forward to August 8 and again to July 23, when the game was unexpectedly released on Microsoft Windows through Steam. Android and iOS ports were released on July 25 and August 3, 2015, respectively. PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch console ports were released on November 29, 2019. The player character

11342-423: Was still mysterious. Reviewers criticized the game's difficulty, many saying it detracted from the rest of the experience. TouchArcade said that the difficulty would discourage players who had not been interested in the original, and Gamezebo felt that the increased number of animatronics made the game feel overwhelming. PC Gamer contended that the constant pressure of the difficult gameplay took away from

11449-400: Was uploaded to Cawthon's website teasing a third entry in the series. Other images followed before a trailer was released on January 26, 2015. On February 15, Cawthon posted on Steam that Five Nights at Freddy's 3 was cancelled after a hacker allegedly leaked the game. This was later revealed as a hoax; the "leaked" download linked to a humorous clone of a previous game of Cawthon's, There

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