A decade since FNAF hit our screens and into our minds forever, its lore continues to keep us up at night, making us wonder whether this animatronic nightmare will ever end. Questions regarding the FNAF timeline arise, such as whether it was the bite of ’83 or ’87.
The FNAF lore grips and immerses us into its animatronic, nightmarish world. From video games to graphic novels, the world of FNAF has grown far more complex than the first time you clocked into the night shift at Fazbear’s Pizzeria. So, if you want to try and make sense of it all, here’s how to play all FNAF games chronologically. Beware, it can get tricky keeping up with the timeline.
How to play every FNAF game in chronological order
For those aiming to play the Five Nights at Freddy’s series in chronological order, the titles won’t help as the timeline is quite scattered.
For instance, despite being the first release, the first installment is set in 1993, while the fourth takes you back a decade to 1983. It’s confusing, so refer to the list below to align your playthrough with the in-game years.
Any “Year set in” range means that the date is unconfirmed, and this is an educated guess as to where the events can fit within the mainline series.
| Title | Year set in |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s Four | 1983 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s Two | 1987 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s | 1993 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location | 1994 to 2000 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s Three | 2023 |
| Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator | 2023 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted | 2025 to 2029 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s: Special Delivery | 2025 to 2029 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach | 2029 to 2031 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 | 2029 to 2031 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach – Ruin DLC | 2029 to 2032 |
How to play every FNAF game in order of release
It’s more straightforward to play through the Five Nights at Freddy’s series according to their release dates (if you aim to enjoy the games in the order they originally came out). This allows you to enjoy each game as Cawthon originally intended rather than throw yourself into the intense and incredibly challenging fourth FNAF.
The sequence is clear from one to four based on the titles, but after that, it veers away from numbering. Here are all FNAF games by order of their release.
| Title | Release date |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s | 2014 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s Two | 2014 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s Three | 2015 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s Four | 2015 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location | 2016 |
| Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator | 2017 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted | 2019 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s: Special Delivery | 2019 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach | 2021 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach – Ruin DLC | 2023 |
| Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 | 2023 |
How many FNAF games are there?
As of 2024, the Five Nights at Freddy’s mainline series has 10 games and one DLC.
However, some projects have received backing from FNAF creator Scott Cawthon, such as Joy of Creation and FNAF: Into the Pit. While Joy of Creation is set in a new timeline with Cawthon as the lead role and events centered around him, his family, and the video game he created, Into the Pit‘s events could be construed as mainline (depending on whether you believe Fazbear Frights is canon).
Cawthon has also made spinoffs: Five Nights at Freddy’s World, Freddy in Space 2, Security Breach: Fury’s Rage, and Ultimate Custom Night. While created by Cawthon, these entries aren’t canon nor part of the mainline series.
There are many FNAF-inspired fan games, but these take the core gameplay elements of FNAF (security cameras and point-and-click) and add their own animatronics for new frights for FNAF gamers. For avid gamers only interested in uncovering FNAF‘s secrets, you will have to wait until the next mainline game releases.
