FNAF games in order: Five Nights at Freddy's release and story timeline
Don't spend five nights deciding what order to play them in.
What started initially as an indie-horror game has become a global phenomenon with it recently getting a Five Nights at Freddy's movie adaptation and if you're just jumping in, we have the FNAF games in release date and chronological order.
FNAF creator Scott Cawthorn has clearly been busy since the original came out in 2014 with 10 main entries and a number of spin-offs to flesh out the animatronic nightmare.
He also served to help influence the film so the production team would do the series justice. The film certainly stayed true to its roots as we covered in our Five Nights at Freddy's review but the darkness and violence of the games are muted somewhat resulting in a "sanitised interpretation".
There's still plenty more to come though with FNAF: Help Wanted 2 coming to PlayStation VR 2 in December 2023. Anyone who has only seen the film and dives in is likely to be in for quite the shock.
With all that said, there's more like 50 Nights at Freddy's to get through so read on to see how to jump into the spooky series!
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FNAF games in release date order
The Five Nights at Freddy’s franchise began back in 2014 and later this year we’re set to be playing its 10th mainline release already. If you’re brand new to the horror game series, it’s recommended that you play them in release date order, just as everyone who has been playing from the start has been doing.
Here is the complete list of FNAF games in release date order:
- Five Nights at Freddy’s (2014 | PC, iOS, Android)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (2014 | PC, iOS, Android)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s 3 (2015 | PC, iOS, Android)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 (2015 | PC, iOS, Android)
- FNAF World (2016 | PC)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location (2016 | PC, Android, iOS)
- Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator (2017 | PC)
- Ultimate Custom Night (2018 | PC)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted (2019 | PC, PS4, PS VR, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s: Special Delivery (2019 | iOS, Android)
- Freddy in Space 2 (2019 | PC, iOS, Android)
- Security Breach: Fury’s Rage (2021 | PC, iOS, Android)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach (2021 | PC, PS4, PS5)
- Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 (2023 | PSVR 2)
In the list above, it’s worth pointing out that the games in bold are the main instalments and those not bolded are considered spin-offs.
It’s also worth mentioning that the platforms listed are where the games were initially released, you should find most if not all of them available to play on PS4/5, Xbox One/Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch. Head to the digital storefront of your choice to find them.
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FNAF games in story order
To play the FNAF games in story order, you’ll need to look out for when each title is set in the universe’s timeline. Fortunately, we know when each game is set. Here’s how to play the Five Nights at Freddy’s games in chronological story order:
Five Nights at Freddy’s 4
Widely considered to be the best place to start for FNAF newcomers, the fourth game in the franchise is set the earliest in the overall timeline. Its plot takes place in 1983, which is a good while before the rest of the games.
Due to the stark difference in timeline placement, FNAF 4 is in a different setting, too, with you playing as a child in their bedroom hiding from the creepy animatronics rather than a security guard.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
The next game in chronological story order is FNAF 2. In this one, Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza has recently opened and you play as a security guard working the night shifts. It’s set four years after the fourth game in 1987 and introduces a couple of new animatronics.
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location
The fifth game is the best game to play as number three in story order. It’s a little more difficult to accurately place FNAF Sister Location in the timeline than the games above, but a line in it does reference the closure of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza in ‘87.
In Sister Location, you play as a late-night technician in Circus Baby’s Pizza World and, you know, have to survive the creepy animatronics.
Five Nights at Freddy’s
The original game is the next FNAF title to play in story order. In it, if you haven’t guessed, you need to survive five nights at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. Don’t let those animatronics into your office now, whatever you do. It’s definitely set after the second game and most likely around the same time as Sister Location based on references made.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 3
FNAF 3 is set 30 years after the closure of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, which means we can place it quite easily as the fifth game to play in story order. In this one, you play as a security guard in Fazbear’s Fright: The Horror Attraction surviving against, yet again, those darned creepy animatronics. You’d think the people of this world would have realised by now not to take on these jobs.
Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator
This one’s… a bit different. This free-to-play entry bears all the hallmarks of a spin-off but is actually a main instalment within the series canon. The 2D game features Springtrap, which first appeared in FNAF 3, so it has to be set after the events of that game.
Ultimate Custom Night
Another of the more different titles in the series, Ultimate Custom Night is something of a direct sequel to Pizzeria Simulator. The second free-to-play game is highly customisable and features 50 selectable animatronic characters from across seven entries in the franchise.
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted
Help Wanted recreates moments from the rest of the games in the list above, so it’s easy to place it next in the story timeline order. You can play the game in VR (or not, the choice is yours). Time to be a plucky security guard once more.
We’ll have to wait and see where Help Wanted 2 fits into the story order when it launches by the end of 2023.
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach
Finally, once you’re done with the rest of them (if you’re planning on sticking to an order), you can move on to FNAF Security Breach. In this game, you play as a young boy called Gregory who is trapped within Freddy Fazbear’s Mega Pizzaplex. Of course, young Gregory has to survive the night against those killer animatronic characters.
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