Five Nights at Freddy’s spawned a fan game renaissance shaded by controversy

polygon.com:

Five Nights at Freddy’s fan games have existed for almost as long as the series itself. Endorsed by FNAF creator Scott Cawthon, thousands have sprung up on Game Jolt and Itch.io since Cawthon’s first game was released in 2014. These independent projects catalyzed the fanbase, as constant unofficial content kept people engaged between major releases. Over time, they grew into their own community, helping the fandom to weather repeated changes and controversies.

FNAF is a horror game series that takes place in a fictional pizzeria where the animatronic characters come to life at night. With story snippets hidden in minigames and voice recordings, it built a fanbase through its surprisingly deep lore alongside its tension and jump-scares. Cawthon made the first few FNAF games almost by himself, and launched them just months apart throughout 2014 and 2015. Today, the number of official games and spinoffs reaches double digits.

That’s nothing compared to the number of fan games. FNAF has a “wild level of accessibility” for fan developers, said Seven Dane Asmund, who created the fan game Clearing Your Name. The Bitsy game was released in 2018, and Asmund said it is still played almost every day. “I think that was something really inspiring for the fan game creators,” Asmund said. “Just being like, this is something that one person can do. I’m one person, and I’m just figuring stuff out, and I can do that.”

FNAF fan games also grew in popularity thanks to YouTubers and streamers. The official entries in the horror series made for an excellent spectator experience, and it became a staple among Let’s Play broadcasters, whose reactions to the animatronics — and especially the jump-scares — made for a fantastic spectator sport.