The lore of Five Nights at Freddy’s is infamously cryptic, and while fans have thoroughly debated it down to the finest details, some games came with bigger and better lore reveals than the rest. Over the course of the series, the names and stories of FNAF’s main characters have slowly been revealed, and fans have worked tirelessly to try and piece its overarching puzzle together. Many of FNAF’s biggest mysteries have never been fully solved, but each game expanded the horrific history of Fazbear Entertainment in addition to its animatronic cast.
Despite the plethora of information presented across the series’ games, books, and other adaptations, FNAF’s actual narrative is all but impossible to piece together. FNAF obscures the details of its story as thoroughly as the in-game Fazbear Entertainment covers up the horrors that happen within its halls, leaving fans with bits and pieces of canon FNAF lore that never quite seem to fit together. No matter how the events are arranged on the timeline, there always seem to be contradictions that leave FNAF’s main events a complete mystery.
However, there are definitive parts of FNAF’s lore that serve as major milestones in the timeline, many of which fans have collectively come to agree upon in the years since the first game’s release. Facts like the names of main characters, the identities of the victims who haunt Fazbear Entertainment’s animatronics, and a handful of specific dates serve as a roadmap for fans as they attempt to solve the series’ mysteries. Massive clues about FNAF’s lore have been scattered throughout the series, but these games featured the biggest reveals of the franchise.
Five Nights At Freddy’s 3
Up until Five Nights at Freddy’s 3, little was known about the infamous Purple Guy who first appeared in FNAF 2. It quickly became clear that he was the murderer responsible for turning Fazbear’s animatronic band into haunted horrors thanks to FNAF 2’s Atari-esque minigames, but his identity was left a complete mystery. There were plenty of theories, but since Purple Guy’s fate after the events of FNAF 1 was also unknown, fans couldn’t figure out who he was.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 introduced Springtrap, simultaneously answering the question of what had happened to Purple Guy. While he remained unnamed, FNAF 3 revealed that Purple Guy was chased into the empty Springtrap animatronic costume by the spirits of his victims. The costume’s spring locks snapped shut around him, trapping both his body and soul inside. Not only did Springtrap quickly become one of the most popular characters in the FNAF franchise after FNAF 3's release, but this spring lock accident is what allowed Purple Guy's sinister spirit to return again and again throughout the rest of the series.
Five Nights At Freddy’s 4
While the first three Five Nights at Freddy’s games were implicitly linked, FNAF 4 made their connection explicit with a backstory so complex that it made FNAF’s lore impossible to solve. FNAF 4 revealed so much lore that fans have yet to fully piece together the hints, Easter eggs, and events it portrayed. However, FNAF 4 introduced the singular family at the center of FNAF’s overarching plot, allowing players to get a much better understanding of the story as a whole.
FNAF 4 stars the Crying Child, an unnamed protagonist who is revealed to be the victim of one of Fazbear Entertainment’s infamous bite-related incidents. While many fans initially believed that this cutscene depicted FNAF's Bite of ‘87 first referenced in the original FNAF’s first phone call, it’s likely that FNAF 4 takes place in 1983, making it a prequel to all the other games in the timeline. Throughout the FNAF 4 minigames, it’s revealed that the Crying Child is the son of Purple Guy and possibly the brother of FNAF’s first security guard, though the latter theory is still up for debate.
Unfortunately, FNAF 4 also revealed one of the franchise’s biggest mysteries, and it may be truly impossible to solve. At the end of the game, a large, locked box is revealed, though it cannot be opened. The box was originally meant to be opened once fans solved FNAF 4's story, but since puzzle was never pieced together, the box’s contents became one of FNAF's biggest unsolved mysteries. As such, plenty of questions remain about the identities and fates of FNAF 4’s characters, leaving holes in FNAF’s timeline that may never be resolved.
Fine Nights At Freddy's: Sister Location
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FNAF: Sister Location expanded the Five Nights at Freddy’s universe more than any other FNAF game, introducing an entirely new branch of animatronic entertainment within the game’s cryptic universe. Sister Location takes players to the underground Circus Baby’s Entertainment and Rentals, an animatronic manufacturing facility that rents its robots out for parties and events. These animatronics are unique from Freddy Fazbear’s mascot cast, and the lore they reveal as players try to survive five shifts in this new branch of the Fazbear franchise opened the door for plenty of new theories about the series’ timeline.
Sister Location revealed some of the most crucial details regarding FNAF’s fan-favorite main characters, including their names, relationships, and potential connections to the first four games. Not only was the Purple Guy’s name revealed to be William Afton, but his son, Michael Afton, is also named as the game’s player character, potentially connecting him to previous player characters. However, Sister Location’s biggest lore drop added another member to the Afton family by introducing Circus Baby, one of the most important animatronics in FNAF lore to date.
While Circus Baby became one of FNAF’s most iconic characters after the release of Sister Location, her identity prior to becoming the star of her own themed restaurant is perhaps one of the most important parts of FNAF’s lore. Circus Baby is possessed by the soul of Elizabeth Afton, the third and final Afton child to appear in the FNAF series. Elizabeth's death and the subsequent closing of Freddy Fazbear's first sister location mark one of the most crucial events on the overall FNAF timeline regarding the Aftons’ character arcs and stories, but unfortunately, fans have yet to figure out exactly when this tragedy occurred in relation to the timeline's other events.
Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator
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Following Sister Location, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator sought to resolve many of FNAF’s open-ended mysteries, dropping reveal after reveal as players built and managed their own pizzeria. Once again stepping into the shoes of Michael Afton, players were given the task of salvaging the mysterious animatronics that made their way into the back alley outside. At the end of the week, however, it’s revealed that the entire pizzeria is a facade designed to lure these haunted bots back into Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza Place, a location that mysteriously reappears beneath the Mega Pizzaplex in FNAF Security Breach's True Ending. Pizzeria Simulator was intended to bring the first major chapter of FNAF to a close, but the plot points it left unresolved opened the door for a new generation of Fazbear Entertainment to follow shortly after.
Still, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator gathers countless FNAF secrets inside the walls of its customizable pizzeria. This sixth game in the FNAF saga reveals the identity of William Afton’s first victim, the events leading up to Charlie Emily’s murder and possession of the Puppet, the fates of the three “surviving” members of the Afton family, and more. Players who extensively explore its lore can earn the Lorekeeper certificate, though there are still plenty of mysteries left to be solved in the Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise.