The 11 main FNAF games in release order are Five Nights at Freddy's, FNAF 2, FNAF 3, FNAF 4, Sister Location, Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, Ultimate Custom Night, Help Wanted, Security Breach, Help Wanted 2 and Secret of the Mimic.
This list gives each game's release date and platforms, what is established about where each story sits, how story order differs from release order, and the spin-offs and novels around them.
The FNAF game order at a glance
Play the main series in release order: FNAF (2014), FNAF 2 (2014), FNAF 3 (2015), FNAF 4 (2015), Sister Location (2016), Pizzeria Simulator (2017), Ultimate Custom Night (2018), Help Wanted (2019), Security Breach (2021), Help Wanted 2 (2023), Secret of the Mimic (2025). Each game reveals story details that the next one builds on, and several entries, such as FNAF 2, Sister Location and the Help Wanted games, look back at earlier events, so release order shows the story in the order players first discovered it.
Overview of the FNAF Franchise
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Creator and owner | Scott Cawthon; published under ScottGames |
| First game | Five Nights at Freddy's, August 8, 2014 |
| Main games | 11, from Five Nights at Freddy's to Secret of the Mimic |
| Eras | Classic era: the first seven games, made by Cawthon alone; Steel Wool era: Help Wanted onward, made with Steel Wool Studios |
| Core gameplay | Survive from midnight to 6:00 a.m. against animatronics while managing a limited resource |
| Setting | Each game is at a different location tied to the fictional Freddy Fazbear's Pizza chain |
| Records | Guinness World Record for most video game sequels in a single year, for the games released from August 2014 to June 2015 |
| Films | Five Nights at Freddy's (October 27, 2023) and Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (December 5, 2025) |
Detailed List of All FNAF Games in Release Order
| # | Game | Original release | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Five Nights at Freddy's | August 8, 2014 | Windows, Android, iOS; PS4, Xbox One, Switch in 2019 |
| 2 | Five Nights at Freddy's 2 | November 11, 2014 | Windows, Android, iOS; PS4, Xbox One, Switch in 2019 |
| 3 | Five Nights at Freddy's 3 | March 2, 2015 | Windows, Android, iOS; PS4, Xbox One, Switch in 2019 |
| 4 | Five Nights at Freddy's 4 | July 23, 2015 | Windows, Android, iOS; PS4, Xbox One, Switch in 2019 |
| 5 | Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location | October 7, 2016 | Windows, Android, iOS; Xbox One, Switch, PS4 in 2020 |
| 6 | Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator | December 4, 2017 | Windows; Android, iOS, Xbox One, Switch, PS4 later |
| 7 | Ultimate Custom Night | June 27, 2018 | Windows; Android, iOS in 2020; PS4, Xbox One, Switch in 2021 |
| 8 | Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted | May 28, 2019 | VR on Windows and PS4; Quest, Switch, Android, iOS, Xbox One in 2020 |
| 9 | Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach | December 16, 2021 | Windows, PS4, PS5; Xbox in 2022; Switch in 2023 |
| 10 | Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted 2 | December 14, 2023 | Quest and PS VR2; PS5 and Switch in 2024 |
| 11 | Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic | June 13, 2025 | Windows, PS5; Xbox Series X/S and Switch later |
Security Breach's free Ruin expansion arrived on July 25, 2023, and Help Wanted's Curse of Dreadbear expansion on October 23, 2019.
FNAF Release Timeline
| Year | Main series | Spin-offs and extras |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Five Nights at Freddy's; FNAF 2 | – |
| 2015 | FNAF 3; FNAF 4 | – |
| 2016 | Sister Location | FNaF World (January 21) |
| 2017 | Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator | – |
| 2018 | Ultimate Custom Night | – |
| 2019 | Help Wanted | Special Delivery (AR); Freddy in Space 2; Curse of Dreadbear DLC |
| 2020 | – | Fazbear Fanverse ports begin |
| 2021 | Security Breach | Security Breach: Fury's Rage |
| 2022 | – | Youtooz Presents: Five Nights at Freddy's |
| 2023 | Help Wanted 2 | Ruin DLC; Freddy in Space 3: Chica in Space |
| 2024 | – | Into the Pit |
| 2025 | Secret of the Mimic | – |
Story Chronology of FNAF Games
The games do not give one dated timeline on screen. The placements below are the ones documented for each game; the order of the rest is pieced together from clues inside the games.
| Game | Where its story sits | Setting |
|---|---|---|
| Five Nights at Freddy's 4 | Atari-style minigames between nights follow a young boy tormented by his older brother | A child's bedroom |
| Five Nights at Freddy's 2 | A prequel, set in 1987, before the first game | A pizzeria, played as guards Jeremy Fitzgerald and Fritz Smith |
| Five Nights at Freddy's | Set in the 1990s | A family pizzeria, played as guard Mike Schmidt |
| Sister Location | An interquel between earlier entries | Circus Baby's Entertainment and Rental |
| Five Nights at Freddy's 3 | A sequel set after the restaurants of the first two games | Fazbear's Fright, a horror attraction based on the chain |
| Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator | Follows Sister Location as its sequel | A pizzeria you run by day |
| Ultimate Custom Night | Built from 50 animatronics from earlier games | Several selectable offices |
| Help Wanted and Help Wanted 2 | A metafictional story about the games themselves; Help Wanted 2 is a direct sequel | VR minigames |
| Security Breach and Ruin | Ruin follows Security Breach, with Cassie searching the ruined Pizzaplex for Gregory | Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizzaplex |
| Secret of the Mimic | The eleventh main installment, made by Steel Wool Studios | See the game's own story |
Differences Between Release and Story Order
| Game | Release position | Story difference |
|---|---|---|
| Five Nights at Freddy's 2 | 2nd | Set before the first game, in 1987 |
| Five Nights at Freddy's 4 | 4th | Its minigames tell a separate story about a boy and his older brother |
| Sister Location | 5th | An interquel rather than a straight sequel to FNAF 4 |
| Help Wanted | 8th | Replays the first five games in VR inside its own frame story |
| Into the Pit | Spin-off, 2024 | Adapts a Fazbear Frights short story, not a main-series event |
Understanding the Importance of Playing FNAF Games in Order
| You are | Play in | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New to FNAF | Release order | Each game assumes you know the reveals before it |
| Following the lore | Release order first, then revisit FNAF 2 and FNAF 4 | The prequel details land after you know the later games |
| Only interested in the modern 3D games | Help Wanted, Security Breach with Ruin, Help Wanted 2, Secret of the Mimic | The Steel Wool era shares a studio and style |
| Playing on console | The 2019 ports of FNAF 1 to 4 first | They arrived on PS4, Xbox One and Switch together |
| Wanting a lighter start | FNaF World or Into the Pit | Spin-offs that need less series knowledge |
How to Play the FNAF Games for the Best Experience
- Start with Five Nights at Freddy's and play all five nights before moving on.
- Play FNAF 2, 3 and 4 next, listening to every phone call and playing the minigames between nights.
- Continue with Sister Location and Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, which carry the story on.
- Treat Ultimate Custom Night as a challenge mode after Pizzeria Simulator.
- Move to Help Wanted for the VR or flat-screen remakes, then Security Breach and its free Ruin expansion.
- Finish with Help Wanted 2 and Secret of the Mimic.
- Pick up spin-offs such as FNaF World and Into the Pit whenever you want a change of pace.
Additional FNAF Content: Spin-offs and Novels
Beyond the 11 main games, the franchise counts six spin-off games excluding troll games, three novels, short-story series and two films.
| Type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Spin-off games | FNaF World, Special Delivery, Into the Pit, Freddy in Space 2 and 3, Fury's Rage |
| Fazbear Fanverse games | One Night at Flumpty's, Five Nights at Candy's, Popgoes, The Joy of Creation |
| Novels | The Silver Eyes trilogy |
| Short story series | Fazbear Frights, Tales from the Pizzaplex |
| Films | Five Nights at Freddy's (2023), Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (2025) |
Spin-offs
| Spin-off | Release | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| FNaF World | January 21, 2016 | Role-playing game with series characters; pulled from Steam on January 25, 2016 |
| Five Nights at Freddy's AR: Special Delivery | November 25, 2019 | Augmented reality mobile game; servers shut down March 14, 2024 |
| Freddy in Space 2 | December 3, 2019 | Free side-scrolling shooter on Game Jolt |
| Security Breach: Fury's Rage | April 28, 2021 | Free side-scrolling beat 'em up |
| Youtooz Presents: Five Nights at Freddy's | April 29, 2022 | Mobile game |
| Freddy in Space 3: Chica in Space | October 18, 2023 | Released as FNAF: The Movie: The Game |
| Five Nights at Freddy's: Into the Pit | August 7, 2024 | Adventure horror game by Mega Cat Studios |
| Five Laps at Freddy's | Announced June 19, 2024 | Kart racer, not yet released |
Novels
| Book | Release | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Five Nights at Freddy's: The Silver Eyes | Kindle December 17, 2015; paperback September 27, 2016 | Co-written by Scott Cawthon and Kira Breed-Weasley |
| Five Nights at Freddy's: The Twisted Ones | June 27, 2017 | Second novel of the trilogy |
| Five Nights at Freddy's: The Fourth Closet | June 26, 2018 | Ends the trilogy |
| Fazbear Frights | Short story anthology series | Into the Pit adapts its first story |
| Tales from the Pizzaplex | Short story series | Sequel series to Fazbear Frights |
Frequently asked questions
What order are the FNAF games in?
By release: Five Nights at Freddy's, FNAF 2, FNAF 3, FNAF 4, Sister Location, Pizzeria Simulator, Ultimate Custom Night, Help Wanted, Security Breach, Help Wanted 2 and Secret of the Mimic, released from August 2014 to June 2025.
How do I play the FNAF games in order?
Play them in release order, starting with Five Nights at Freddy's from 2014. Later games build on the earlier reveals, and prequel entries such as FNAF 2 make more sense once you have played the games around them.
What is every FNAF game?
There are 11 main games, from Five Nights at Freddy's (2014) to Secret of the Mimic (2025), plus six spin-offs excluding troll games, such as FNaF World and Into the Pit, and fan-made games published under the Fazbear Fanverse Initiative.
What is the first FNAF game in the story?
Among the main games, FNAF 2 is documented as a prequel set in 1987, before the 1990s setting of the first game. The other main games have no stated year in their documented settings.
What is the newest FNAF game?
The newest main game is Five Nights at Freddy's: Secret of the Mimic, released on June 13, 2025, for Windows and PlayStation 5, with Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch versions following. Steel Wool Studios developed it.
Is Security Breach Ruin a separate game?
No. Ruin is a free expansion for Security Breach, released on July 25, 2023, on PC, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. It follows Cassie as she searches the destroyed Mega Pizzaplex for Gregory.
Can I play FNAF games on console?
Yes. FNAF 1 to 4 reached PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on November 29, 2019, and every later main game has console versions. Help Wanted 2 began on Quest and PlayStation VR2.
Conclusion
Play the 11 main games in release order, add Ruin after Security Breach, and treat the spin-offs and novels as optional extras. Release order matches how the story's reveals were designed, while only a few placements, such as FNAF 2 as a 1987 prequel, are fixed in the documented timeline.
