Easy Guide to Play the Five Nights at Freddy’s Series in Order – What to play first?

Only a few horror-survival games become as iconic as Five Nights at Freddy’s. The popular set of indie horror survival adventure games created by Scott Cawthon became an instant worldwide phenomenon when Five Nights at Freddy’s 1 released back in 2014. 

Five Nights at Freddy’s is filled with an incredible lore throughout the entire series. Hence, it might be confusing for some newcomers on where to start the horror-survival series.  

Five Nights at Freddy’s is an ever-expanding series with games, spin-offs, novels, and a film adaptation being produced by Blumhouse Productions with the script being written by game creator, Scott Cawthon. To understand the game’s timeline and how to play them in chronological or release order, continue reading below: 

1. The Chronological Order to Play the Five Nights at Freddy’s Series  

Easy Guide to Play the Five Nights at Freddy's Series in Order - What to play first?
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister’s Location (2016)

The Five Nights at Freddy’s series consists of nine games which are canon and four spin-offs which aren’t canon to the main timeline. Hence, the series contains a total of 13 games to focus on.  

The chronological order begins the series from Five Nights at Freddy’s 4, which is pretty weird but FNAF 4 takes place in 1983, before all of the other FNAF games. Playing the games in chronological order will give you the complete FNAF lore from the beginning.  

For playing the Five Nights at Freddy’s series in its chronological order, you need to follow the list below: 

  • Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 (Timeline:  1983) 
  • FNAF 2 (Timeline: 1987) 
  • Five Nights at Freddy’s Sister Location (Timeline: The early 1990s or late 1980s) 
  • FNAF (Timeline: 1993) 
  • FNAF 3 (Timeline: 2023) 
  • Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator (Timeline: 2023) 
  • FNAF Help Wanted (Timeline: Set after the events of Pizzeria Simulator) 
  • FNAF: Special Delivery (Timeline: Events prior to Security Breach) 
  • FNAF: Security Breach (Timeline: somewhere between 2024 and 2029) 

This order does not contain the four Five Nights at Freddy’s spin-offs as they aren’t canon to the main FNAF timeline and doesn’t play any role in the chronological order of the series.  

2. The Release Order to Play the Five Nights at Freddy’s Series

Easy Guide to Play the Five Nights at Freddy's Series in Order - What to play first?
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 (2014)

The release order for Five Nights at Freddy’s begins with the release of the first game in 2014. The release order follows the series serially, letting players play through all the games smoothly.  

The release order provides players with the complete FNAF story, just like the chronological order. The only thing different between the two orders are the inclusion of the spin-off games.  

For playing the Five Nights at Freddy’s series in its release order, you need to follow the list below: 

  • Five Nights At Freddy’s (2014) 
  • Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 (2014) 
  • FNAF 3 (2015) 
  • FNAF 4 (2015) 
  • Five Nights at Freddy’s: Sister Location (2016) 
  • Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator (2017) 
  • Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted (2019) 
  • FNAF: Special Delivery (2019) 
  • Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach (2021) 

Now let’s take a look at the Five Nights at Freddy’s spin-off games which are not canon to the main timeline.  

  • Five Nights at Freddy’s World (2016) 
  • Ultimate Custom Night (2018) 
  • Freddy in Space 2 (2019) 
  • Security Breach Fury’s Rages (2021) 

3. Which Five Nights at Freddy’s should you play first?  

Easy Guide to Play the Five Nights at Freddy's Series in Order - What to play first?
Five Nights at Freddy’s 1 (2014) 

Newcomers to the Five Nights at Freddy’s series should start with Five Nights at Freddy’s 1 (2014) and follow the release order to play the later games. The first game introduces you to all the characters and the game mechanics of the series.  

Completely beat the first game to get the hang of how the game works, then move on to the later Five Nights at Freddy’s. The third and the fourth game are much harder than the first two games so it is essential to beat the first two and have more experience to avoid getting stuck later down the series.  

4. Which is the scariest Five Nights at Freddy’s game?  

Easy Guide to Play the Five Nights at Freddy's Series in Order - What to play first?
Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 (2014) 

Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 plays on the fear of people who are terrified about monsters hiding in their bedrooms, which makes it the scariest FNAF game till date. In the game, you take control of a child in a bedroom who is afraid of the dark and must survive the night.  

Along with the scariest FNAF monster designs till date with glowing red eyes and monstrous treats, the gameplay mechanic pumps up the difficulty significantly from the previous games. The player has to check the beds, two doors and closets for incoming threats and also listen for faint breathing noises which exposes the animatronics’ locations.  

5. Is Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach (2021) the last FNAF game?  

Easy Guide to Play the Five Nights at Freddy's Series in Order - What to play first?
Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach (2021)

Due to FNAF creator, Scott Cawthon’s departure from the Five Nights at Freddy’s series, fans questioned whether Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach is the last game in the series. The answer to the question is that FNAF: Security Breach is not the last game in the series.  

In a statement from Scott Cawthon, he mentioned that he will appoint someone as the head of the Five Nights at Freddy’s saga, with an announcement about the future of FNAF series planned at some point.  

6. About Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach (alternatively known as Five Nights at Freddy’s 9) is a 2021 survival horror video game developed by Steel Wool Studios and published by ScottGames. It is the ninth main installment in the Five Nights at Freddy’s series and the thirteenth game overall, taking place after the events of Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted.

The game differs from other installments in the franchise, featuring only one night instead of five and having free-roam gameplay. The player takes the role of a young boy named Gregory, who must evade hostile animatronic characters and a female night guard in a large shopping mall, unveiling its morbid secrets while trying to survive until morning.

Epic Dope Staff

Epic Dope Staff

Our talented team of Freelance writers - Always on the lookout - pour their energies into a wide range of topics bringing to our audience what they crave - fun up-to-date news, reviews, fan theories and much much more.

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