All FNAF Games in Chronological Order (2024)

With almost a dozen main games under its belt, Five Nights at Freddy's has become one of the most popular horror games in the last decade. However, referencing the title can get confusing sometimes because its timeline is known to be everywhere. That's why we have the complete Fight Nights at Freddy's series explained here.

As more FNAF lore gets added with every new installment released, keeping track of it gets difficult without a proper chronological order, as it starts in the 80s. If you want to play the series in the correct story order, here's how to play FNAF games in order.

Five Nights At Freddy's Games Chronological Order List

There is plenty of speculation as to where each game falls in the universe's timeline based on lore and hints given to us in the games. We've done our best to lay them out in the order we believe they occur in the story, which does not necessarily coincide with their release dates.

1. Five Nights at Freddy's 4 (2015) - 1983

Five Nights at Freddy's 4 was announced in 2015 as the fourth game in the series; however, based on the age of the character you play and hints shown during gameplay, it is believed to be the first chronological game of the series. You play as a young child terrorized by his fear of the animatronics he conjures up in his dark bedroom. The date is believed to be 1983, as revealed by one of the mini-games, putting it at the start of every other entry in the series.

2. Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (2014) - 1987

FNAF 2 places the player as the new security guard in Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. They will encounter unexplainable horrors with the animatronics and learn a lot about the pizzeria's history from Phone Guy. As Phone Guy dies in Five Nights at Freddy's 1, the game is confirmed to be a prequel. We can place it as the second game in chronological order with the paycheck received after Night 5, dated 1987, just four years after Five Night at Freddy's 4.

3. Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location (2016) - 1987

Set in Circus Baby’s Entertainment, Five Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location features a much different setting and style of play than other games in the series. The Phone Guy first revealed this sister location to players in Five Nights at Freddy's 2, which leads us to believe they must have been open either at or around the same time, allowing us to place it in the year 1987.

4. Five Nights at Freddy's (2014) - 1993

This is the first game released in the series. Players take on the role of nighttime security guards who must protect themselves from malfunctioning animatronics. Despite having the same premise as Five Nights at Freddy's 2, it is believed to be set in the 1990s based on the decor and environments of the game and the aforementioned death of Phone Guy.

6. Five Nights at Freddy's 3 (2015) - 2023

Five Nights at Freddy's 3 is much easier to place on the list because the description of the game tells us the events are set 30 years after "Freddy Fazbear's Pizza closed its doors," which we know happened after the events of Five Nights at Freddy's 1. That puts Five Nights at Freddy's 3 somewhere around 2023, where the player guards a new location, Fazbear Frights: The Horror Attraction.

The relics and items displayed in the attraction could very well be the remnants of the items from Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, which managed to survive the fire depicted in Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator.

7. Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator (2017) - 2023

Released in 2017, Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator is a very different experience than other titles in the franchise. It mixes a simulator and an arcade experience where you own a pizzeria. While it's hard to place it accurately on the timeline, based on the plot, it is believed to take place after Freddy Fazbear's Pizza closure in an attempt to lure in and ultimately destroy the animatronics once and for all.

8. Ultimate Custom Night (2017) - 2023

Originally planned as a DLC for Pizzeria Simulator, Ultimate Custom Night has William either stuck in a series of repeating nightmares or in some sort of Hell following his death, where the ghosts of his victims are haunting him. This allows us to place the game somewhere around 2023, right after the events of Pizzeria Simulator.

9. Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted (2019) - 2029

Five Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted is a collection of minigames set in the Five Nights at Freddy's universe, where you'll interact with many familiar animatronics and locations. At the start of the game, HandUnit tells us that Fazbear Entertainment has developed a negative reputation over the last few decades, which suggests this game must take place after the events of the Five Nights at Freddy's 4, 2, and 1.

10. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 (2023) - 2029-2035

FNAF: Help Wanted 2 is the second VR game in the series and continues where the previous VR game left off. It is theorized that it takes place after the events of Security Breach and its DLC, Security Breach—Ruin. Based on this and the fact that Cassie is believed to be the protagonist, we can place the game somewhere between 2029 and 2035.

11. Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach (2021) - 2035

Although the period is not fully clear for Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach, fans speculate that It is the last on the timeline, especially considering it's DLC. The first clue is that the facility has been completely abandoned and unused in the last several years.

Another clue is shown in one of the game's potential endings, where you come to the burnt pizzeria area from Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria Simulator, suggesting this game happens after those events. With that said, we can safely place it somewhere around the early or mid-2030s

Can I play FNAF games in any order?

While none of the dates are set in stone, this is the best guess on where each seems to end up. However, with each game released in the series, the FNAF lore continues to grow and change the more players uncover in the games. You can play the games in any order and still enjoy them.

Looking for more Pro Game Guides Five Nights at Freddy's content? Check out our guides on All FNAF Security Breach Ruin Endings & How To Get Them or All Characters in Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach!