Five Nights At Freddy’s took the world by storm in 2014. The solo creation of indie game developer Scott Cawthon, in less than four years he’s worked alone to release seven full-featured games for his franchise. Fans have grown accustomed to Cawthon’s unique style, but it appears he’s finally seeking new avenues for development.
In a Steam Community post Friday morning, Cawthon reflected on missed opportunities and partnerships that had fallen by the wayside due to his insistence on being the sole creator for the FNaF franchise. Five Nights At Freddy’s games for consoles and VR had been discussed in the past, but those fleeting ideas have shown little progress. That’s why Cawthon is looking for help from a larger publisher. Here’s what he had to say on the subject:
“At this juncture, though, with the release of Pizzeria Simulator, I feel good about revisiting some of those opportunities. So, yeah, there will hopefully be more FNaF games at some point in the future, but they won’t come directly from me anymore. You guys deserve better than one guy at his computer making these games, anyway! I think if there is to ever be another game in the series, I would want it to come from an experienced publisher that could really make something incredible.”
That doesn’t necessarily mean Cawthon will reach out to the likes of Electronic Arts or Activision to make Five Nights At Freddy’s into a major triple-A franchise. It just means he’s looking for a studio bigger than himself to make his series the best it can possibly be. As opposed to a team of 100, a small team of 10 developers could potentially function just as well. There’s no indication Scott will be leaving his franchise behind either. His publishing label at Scott Games, however, may cease to exist or expand in size.
Before that potentially monumental shift happens, Cawthon is mulling over a possible update for Pizzeria Simulator. He’s not sure if it will take the form of an all-tycoon mode or a custom night, but he doesn’t want fans to expect the extra lore typically found in FNaF expansions. Instead, he’s considering including something along the lines of a developer diary.
The Five Nights At Freddy’s game narrative came to a close with the release of Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator in December. While movie and book adaptations remain in progress, most of the series’ major lore questions have been solved. Hours after the latest release, Cawthon announced he was taking a break from game development but promised he would eventually return. It seems he’s making good on that promise.
Five Nights At Freddy’s games are available now on PC and mobile devices.
Would you like to see Five Nights At Freddy’s games developed by a larger team? Would you play the series in VR or on a game console? Tell us in the comments section!
