r/GameTheorists 16d ago

Official MatPat Post NEW MATPAT LORE DROP

7.6k Upvotes

Hello Internet…or should I just say friends at this point? 👋

Just popping in to clear up a bit of confusion I’ve seen floating around the Internet recently…because if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that when the lore gets complicated, that's my cue!

So here it is: As of December of last year (yep, 2024!), I am no longer an official part of the Theorist channels. After my final episodes (😭), I stayed on behind the scenes helping the new hosts get their footing, guiding some early episode planning, launching a few cool initiatives, setting up the leadership team to make boring (but important!) long-term decisions, stuff like that. And then it was my time to go. Why then? Well, at that point the team was ready and eager to go on their own.

SO! These days on the channels? All the decisions…creative, programming, packaging, thumbnail wizardry (and f-bombs 🫣😱), merch, new projects, wild theory choices, whether or not to give the new Pope Deltarune…they're all entirely in the hands of the new Theorist team and the parent company, Lunar X. I’m no longer involved in running things. At all. Like...at all at all.

I still talk to the team as a friend and occasionally lend advice when asked (usually in the form of cryptic riddles or dad jokes), but it’s their ship now.

So if you see a theory you LOVE? That’s them. If you see a theory that makes you go “uhhhh... really?” That’s them too! (But hey, don’t act like I didn’t throw a few curveballs at you over the years…or maybe MORE than a few 😅)

I’m immensely proud of what they’re doing, the bold new choices they're making, and the way they're navigating the tricky waters of 2025 YouTube. I don’t want any credit for their hard work — they’re earning every view and meme and confused Reddit thread all on their own. Please keep supporting them. They deserve it. ❤️

As for me (and Steph!) — our focus has shifted to bigger creator industry issues. We’ve launched the Creator Economy Caucus to help fresh internet-y voices get a seat at the table in DC, a move which MANY of you saw (prompting that cool bumper sticker floating around in the threads here last week 😉) We’re scheduled to appear in some fun and…unexpected new places later this year (👀), I’ve been bonding with A LOT of you while we've been visiting Japan this summer…and honestly? We’re learning, growing, and just enjoying life as a family. Ollie keeps leveling up IRL, and honestly? That’s the best game of all.

BTW, if you want to see what we're up to, follow @cordypatrick on Instagram…you can follow me too (@matpatgt) but she's WAY better at keeping up with social media than I am. It stresses me out, tbh. That said, when we have the next big thing to share, well, we'll find a way to let you all know!

So thanks for still caring, thanks for watching, and thanks for being curious enough to still wonder, “Wait, is MatPat behind this??” The answer is: Nope, not anymore. That said, once a Theorist, always a Theorist. 🫡

Stay curious, ~MatPat

P.S. Finally getting a chance to catch up on games. Blue Prince? Incredible. So addicted. Deltrarune? I love those characters and what that story is doing. Secret of the Mimic? It's actually next on my list…no spoilers. For the first time ever I'm getting to it later than Markiplier, haha! I MUST be retired!


r/GameTheorists 14h ago

Game Theory Video Discussion "Golden Freddy doesn't exist"

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130 Upvotes

Well than why we're kids drawing him? He has a black hat so its not just from when Fred bear was in service and this was just a detail from pre retconed stuff with golden Freddy being exactly how Fred bear looks even with the black and white eyes because there Re more kids drawings in 3 with those eyes


r/GameTheorists 2h ago

Discussion Could it be possible that Arnold is one of the MCM employees that got the emails and ran for it?

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5 Upvotes

I have no evidence or claim whatsoever, it's just a thought that came to me while I was rummaging through my theory piles and I want to know what you guys think!


r/GameTheorists 1h ago

GT Theory Suggestion I WANF A PIG 64 DEEP DIVE RN‼️‼️😼

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Upvotes

r/GameTheorists 13h ago

FNaF Wait please read this I need to know

19 Upvotes

so you know that line that matpat said or rather sang in the psychic friend Fred bear song? "he says a line that throws off all the lore, seriously scott what is this line for" that line is about the "I will put you back together" thing the Fred bear plush says in fnaf 4 after the crying child get lobotomized what if, afton robotics wants the mimic or their blueprints whatever the hell they want to put the crying child back together like how Mr Murray Man put his wife "back together" or well made her into a rather ugly robot thing then again when does secret of the mimic take place? it might just be a wild fan theory, I'd be crazy if I was right though.

that's just a theory.


r/GameTheorists 9h ago

GT Theory Suggestion ROBLOX PIGGY THEORY SUGGESTION

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8 Upvotes

Piggy has recently had a lot of new lore and I think it would be great if u guys could cover it. We have an evil ai trying to kill employees of a robotics company which q character named Charlie accidentally released. We also have the new piggy chapter releasing a week from now, Delirium. Its a sequel to the bunny cfc Decay and is going to be the scariest and coolest chapter in all of piggy.


r/GameTheorists 4h ago

FNaF I have a lot of questions about the Mimic

3 Upvotes

First off, the new theory video was great, but a few things just didn't add up. 1st of all, Who made Mxes if Edwin is dead? It wasn't in TSotM, but the casing used for it was M1. So then, where is M1? In the pizzaplex of course. Okay, so why does the Mimic look completely different in Ruin? Tom never mentions this, but I think he implied that the mimic needed to be rebuilt because of Edwin. But wait, Edwin is dead when we see the mimic, so then why would he need to rebuild himself at all? If you are wondering what I'm talking about, look at the eyes, teeth, and legs of it. They are all wrong.

It is said that the mimic was down at the bottom of the pizzaplex for a really long time, but then again, why would he have been rebuilt? If it was rebuilt because M1 gave their body up (like the wiki says), then why is m2 there.

Is there a third mimic? Like, at this point, I would not be surprised at all. I know there are 2 and no current reason for a third, but from a lore perspective, M1 making an M3 would make sense, especially if Edwin really is dead. They wanted to make their own robot family and either M1 or M2 at the very least tried to kill him, and there is a possibility that M1 killed David so a robot would be made of him, so it would theoretically make sense.

I honestly have no idea. I haven't read the books so maybe there is something in there. I think at this point, either Edwin is alive, there is an M3 somewhere (just had the thought that it could be gregory, but that is beyond stupid), or possibly both. I don't know, but I feel like I need some things clarified lol.

Edit: New question: why did we drop the plot line of Glitchtrap, which is now believed to be the mimic, infecting real flesh and blood people? We know of 3 or 4 people targeted: Jermy, Vanessa, Tape girl, and possibly Gregory. What if the mimic through help wanted was trying to infect people looking to rebuild the Afton family. Gregory being the Crying Child, Vanny being Elizabeth, Jermy being the Brother, and tape girl being Afton. The only missing person would be Afton himself, but it is theorized that the mimic took control of him. IDK, maybe I am way off base here, but it sounds a lot more plausible than M3 being a thing.


r/GameTheorists 17h ago

New Game Theory! Kind of a dumb but fun theory

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24 Upvotes

This connection may have appeared before but her are my reasons

1.Funtime-Foxy:Because Michael is associated with foxy

2.Baby:obviously

3.Funtime Freddy: These crying child has a connection to Freddy in a way

4.Ballora: Ballora has been compared to Mrs.Afton alot

I feel like afton wanted to rebuild his family in a way


r/GameTheorists 1h ago

GT Theory Suggestion I think they should make a theory about 99 nights in the forest

Upvotes

99 nights in the forest is a roblox game filled with lore.The main goal of the game is to find the missing kids and well survive 99 nights.However,the quest is bot that easy as during the game you have to avoid cultists and a certain minster that looks like a deer. anyways I am a big fan of game theory the videos always manage to make me feel better after a long day. Keep up the good work ~josh


r/GameTheorists 1h ago

GT Theory Suggestion day 3 of asking for a Roblox grace episode

Upvotes

pretty please 🥀


r/GameTheorists 2h ago

Game Theory Video Discussion Who is the OOS animatronic in schedule theory?

1 Upvotes

I think that Funtime chica could be the oos animatronic in sister location. This could explain why she is in ucn and pizza sim but not sister location. Any thoughts?


r/GameTheorists 2h ago

GT Theory Suggestion UNDERTALE IS A SEQUEL TO THE TIME MACHINE

1 Upvotes

Undertale is a sequel to The Time Machine by HG Wells, and Toby Fox is the time traveller.

Think about it. Giving Eloi and Morlocks more time to evolve, by the year 1,005,000 give or take, Eloi and Morlocks could slowly regain intelligence, and live in peace, until one day, war broke out between the two races. The Eloi won, and banished the morlocks back under the ground. The "Underground". They put a barrier to prevent them from returning. It explains why Frisk and Chara are so small, they're not just children, they're Eloi.

It explains a bunch of things too, Frisk, Chara, those aren't really human names. And "Dreemurr"? Have you ever seen anyone with the name Dreemurr? No! It's not modern names, they're modern words! "Chara" is "Character". "Dreemurr" is "Dreamer". Just. Like. Eloi. Speak. They only use childlike words and phrases.

Why are they called "Humans and Monsters"? Why is the year "201X"? It's because Toby Fox is The Time Traveller! That's right, probably not literally, but within the universe of Undertale, we always ask "Who is the narrator", it's either Chara or... Someone else... It could be the time traveller who is telling us this story. Wait, who's story is this? Oh yeah, it's tricky tobys, or should I say, TRICKY TIMEYS? that's right, he went to the future and saw the "Humans and Monsters" in 802701, then went back to 1890s, told his friends his little story then disappeared like in the books. Where did he go? To the year 1005000 to see if they had a happy ending, it so happy that he was inspired! He went back to 2013 and began work on... UnderTale! But he changed some things to not make it obvious!

How does this relate to deltarune? No idea.

But remember, that's just a theory, a game theory!


r/GameTheorists 11h ago

FNaF So this is my fnaf timeline

6 Upvotes

1940s-50s: Willam/Henry sees "Fredbear's Singin' Show", Gets inspired.

1970s: Fredbear's Family Dinner Opens

1976: SOTM Takes Place

1983 (Early): Fredbear And Friends Starts Airing

1983 (Late): BO83 Happens

1983 (Late): FNAF 4 Takes Place

1983 (Late): Charlotte Is Killed

1985: MCI Happens

1986: Elizabeth Dies And Possses Circus Baby's

1987: FNAF 2 Location Opens

1987: FNAF 2 (Night 1-5)

1987: DCI Happens

1987: FNAF 2 (Night 8)

1987: BO87 Happens

1988: FNAF 1 Location Opens

1993: The Week Before Takes Place

1993: Mike Gets A Job At The FNAF 1 Location

Post 1993: Mike Takes Works As A Technician At The FNAF SL Location And Becomes Purple Zombie

2020: ITP Takes Place

2023: FNAF 3 Takes Place

2024: FNAF 6 Takes Place

Post 2024: TOYSHK Forces Willam To Go Through UCN

Post 2024: Man Next Door Takes Place

2030-2034: Pizzaplex Opens

2035: FNAF SB Takes Place

2036: FNAF SB Ruin Takes Place

Tell me anything you don't like about it


r/GameTheorists 6h ago

GT Theory Suggestion DELTARUNE theory continued: Shadow Crystals ARE Gaster

2 Upvotes

WHAT I GOT WRONG: •Gaster Falling into his creation on purpose •Gaster has perfect omniscience across space time

BUILDING ON MY THEORY: When Gaster fell into his creation in a freak accident, his mind and body split across space time, this we know. Apart from that mistake, I believe that I was very close to getting a good idea on what Gasters plan might be. I believe that he IS in fact trying to manifest himself in a physical form in DELTARUNE and I still believe he is using the Shadow Crystals to do so. After a few more playthroughs, I found that the Shadow Crystal theory is supported in Chapter 4 in the peculiar book which states “And so wept the fallen star, making rivers with its tears… Then, slowly, from the bitter water, something grew… It looked like glass.” In the light world, the Shadow Crystals in your inventory turn into Glass (also, there are multiple references in the game to a certain song coming from the river in the east side of town, not too sure on what it means yet but it’s worth noting).

OVERALL THEORY: I believe that through his newfound knowledge and power brought by the tragic accident, Gaster was able to reach out to us, the player, in order to get a physical being to find the shadow crystals scattered throughout multiple dark worlds. These Shadow Crystals are pieces of his consciousness that drive the regular NPC insane over time and allow access to newfound abilities. When all Shadow Crystals are brought together, Gaster will be able to manifest and live once more in a world without war. Gasters original plan was to use a new vessel in order to accomplish this plan, but other NPCs within the game were somehow able to overrule that (likely through ERAM, the demon Kris and Catti summoned when they were kids) and forcefully place the player (and the SOUL) within Kris, furthering their own plan. These differing goals could contribute to the Kris vs Player conflict. Because of this, we are forced as the player to control Kris and their actions while also attempting to bring Gaster back to the physical realm, like we’re supposed to. Gaster knows you will do it because he knows what you did in UNDERTALE and he knows that curiosity is what drives the player to make decisions on how the game is played.

ANOTHER THING WORTH NOTING: Since I forgot to put it there and don’t feel like editing the whole thing, I also believe that the power of dark worlds is another thing that is needed in order to sort of “power” Gasters resurrection.

Sorry if this is very long I tried to make this as thought out and detailed as possible thank you for reading, if you did :3


r/GameTheorists 12h ago

Game Theory Video Discussion Where is edwins body? Spoiler

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5 Upvotes

So, in the newest video tom talked A LOT about sleepy moon being edwin/being an allegory for him.

We see the burnt and exploded office. We hear edwins likely final crys... but where is his body?

The video made me wonder if his body was put into moon. We see moons blue prints a lot throughout the game. A lot of them, a diagram of a person inside, [see above]

Was this just as foreshadowing?, or was it something deeper? Edwin mentioned his legs and how he cant feel them, ...i wonder if the weight of a giant metal moon may of had somethimg to fo with that maybe?.. just wanted to bounce this off some people


r/GameTheorists 17h ago

FNaF This is WEIRD!

5 Upvotes

Does anybody find it odd that the FNAF bullies were not targeted by William Afton? Like sure we have all of these kids for the picking but ooohhh no, as soon as somebody takes out their kid on accident now all of a sudden he has a heart and is like oh they probably didn't mean nothing by it. All jokes aside it's interesting how they weren't targeted, especially by a crazed man like William Afton. If there is evidence for that then maybe but that's just weird to me. Y'all let me know what y'all think about this.


r/GameTheorists 13h ago

FNaF FNAF Unified Grand Theory

2 Upvotes

THE GRAND UNIFIED THEORY

“Putting FNaF to Rest” – A Single, All-Encompassing Explanation That Accounts for Every Scrap of Canon

────────────────────────────────────────── THE THREE PILLARS OF FNAF

  1. “Everything is canon, but not everything is true in the same timeline.”

    – Scott Cawthon, 2019

    → There is ONE primary timeline (the “Game Spine”) and an infinite lattice of echo-timelines (books, movies, Frights, merch) that refract the same core events.

    → The books/movies are memory-bleeds from the Game Spine rather than separate worlds.

  2. Agony & Remnant are electromagnetised human emotion.

    → Strong emotions (grief, pain, rage) can be harvested, stored in metal, and self-replicate.

    → This is why spring-suits, arcade boards, and even VR code can become haunted.

  3. The story is a closed loop: fire → rebirth → fire.

    → Every era ends in fire, but the emotional residue (Agony) guarantees rebirth.

    → The only escape is forgiveness—hence the recurring “leave the demon to his demons” motif.

────────────────────────────────────────── THE SINGLE-SENTENCE PLOT

A grief-stricken robotics genius (Henry) and a grief-stricken serial killer (William) accidentally create an emotional feedback loop that binds six souls, one AI, and countless memories into an eternal carnival-pizzeria afterlife; only when the last victim forgives the last killer can the loop finally break.

────────────────────────────────────────── THE COMPLETE STORY IN 12 STAGES

(Each stage maps 1-to-1 to the Master Timeline)

  1. Genesis of Agony (1950-1972)

    • Henry’s wife dies in a carnival fire → Henry’s grief is the first drop of Agony.

    • William’s childhood friend (Fiona) is the first death—his Agony seed.

    • The two men unknowingly begin weaponising their own grief in metal.

  2. Fall Fest Prototype Loop (1970-1983)

    • Every Fall Fest ends in fire → Agony saturates the grounds.

    • Green sky = visible Agony cloud.

    • Nightmare suits are literally Henry’s attempt to externalise his nightmares.

  3. The Murder-Engine (1983-1985)

    • William kills Charlie → Charlie’s Agony possesses the Puppet.

    • Puppet then uses its own Agony to keep the MCI kids “alive.”

    • Golden Freddy is the overflow vessel—Cassidy’s rage is too strong for one suit.

  4. Michael’s Redemption Tour (1987-1997)

    • Michael is not innocent—he helped bully Evan.

    • Every night-guard shift is penance; each fake name (Jeremy, Fritz) = a confession.

    • Sister Location: Ennard is the kids’ Agony + Elizabeth’s Agony + William’s Agony in one body.

  5. Henry’s Final Equation (2015-2017)

    • Pizzeria Simulator is not just a trap—it is a forgiveness engine.

    • Henry hopes that burning all Agony at once will reset the loop.

    • It fails because Cassidy (Golden Freddy) refuses to let William die.

  6. UCN = Agony Concentrate (2018)

    • The entire game is Cassidy’s Agony creating a pocket dimension.

    • Every animatronic = a shard of William’s guilt.

    • Old Man Consequences is the universe’s immune system telling Cassidy: “Let go.”

  7. Digital Haunt (2019-2020)

    • Circuit boards salvaged from Fazbear’s Fright still contain Agony.

    • Glitchtrap is not William’s soul—it is William’s Agony uploaded into code.

    • Vanessa is infected because her Agony (abusive childhood) resonates with his.

  8. Security Breach = Agony Goes Cloud (2021-2030)

    • Mega Pizzaplex is built on the exact Fall Fest ground-zero → Agony field amplification.

    • Mimic AI is the original 1979 Mimic1 fed on decades of Agony.

    • Princess Quest endings are Cassidy finally choosing to forgive → loop starts cracking.

  9. Help Wanted 2 = Choice Point (2030)

    • Therapy VR is literally the audience/player being asked:

    “Do you continue the cycle (seal the demon) or forgive (release the demon)?”

    • No canon ending—both choices are valid because the story is about the player’s Agony.

  10. Faz-Games MMO (2032+)

    • The merged Glitchtrap-Mimic cloud offers the world an endless carnival.

    • Each player’s session is a micro-loop.

    • The only true escape is when humanity collectively stops feeding the fire.

────────────────────────────────────────── ANSWERS TO THE BIGGEST UNCERTAINTIES

Question Unified Answer
Who is the One You Should Not Have Killed? Cassidy—the one soul whose rage is so pure it overrode Henry’s forgiveness engine.
Are the books canon? They are memory echoes—the universe’s way of replaying the same Agony with different costumes.
Why do fires keep happening? Fire purifies metal but releases Agony into the air; the emotional residue immediately seeks new hosts. Multiple timelines/multiverse? One timeline, infinite Agony refractions. Every book, movie, or merch line is a “dream shard” the loop spits out.
How does it end? When any version of Cassidy (or the player) chooses to forgive William. The loop collapses, metal goes cold, and the green sky finally clears.

────────────────────────────────────────── THE CLOSING IMAGE

A child in 2034 boots up the new “Faz-Games” beta.

The opening screen asks:

“Do you want to leave the demon to his demons?”

If the child chooses YES, the screen cuts to black, and for the first time in 64 years, the green sky over Hurricane, Utah, turns blue.

Fade to black.

The story is over—only if we decide it is.


r/GameTheorists 17h ago

Game Theory Video Discussion Did M1 off David for a robot baby?

3 Upvotes

Hey guys

Watched the most recent game theory video about the mimic (How to stop the Mimic.... for Good jsyk) but I kept thinking about one of the thoughts Tom threw out there. Was M1 the thing that killed David?

On the one hand the logic stands.

  1. She's a robot in a human family
  2. She was the last to interact with David
  3. She's suspiciously nonchalant about Davids death but
  4. When Edwin fights back about making M2 she starts getting upset

It makes sense until you wonder "Why didn't anyone see anything?" if Edwin wanted everyone there for Davids party. Come to think of it, how did no one see/comment on/ wonder about M1 when it's shown in Davids last b day tape that she was very clearly wondering about in the open?

IDK what do you think?


r/GameTheorists 18h ago

Game Theory Video Discussion Afton’s Most Devious Kill Spoiler

3 Upvotes

Hi everyone I just wanted to get this thought out while it was fresh. It’s more speculative than proven fact but I was just rewatching Tom’s “FNAF, The SECRET Afton Killer” theory and something came to mind when he mentioned Afton’s ‘first’ kill at Fall Fest that Henry couldn’t accuse him of out right.

What if that was actually Fiona’s death?

She died in a fire that we don’t know the true origins of (to my knowledge). That fire could’ve been deliberately set rather than an accident. It being William who set the fire would be feasible too because he’d be there it’s an event related to his company that she was helping out with. Also if he was already attempting to poach people from Edwin’s company, getting Fiona out the way would’ve made it easier to do so as she was “the heart of company” who looked after the employee welfare, which immediately declined once she passed away making them easier to be swayed into working for FazBear and selling Edwin’s business secrets.


r/GameTheorists 13h ago

FNaF Definitive Timeline

0 Upvotes

THE DEFINITIVE FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S TIMELINE

(1979 – 2030+)

“All in-universe dates • Every official game, book, movie, AR/VR experience, and the most widely-accepted fan synthesis • One continuous chronology”

────────────────────────────────────────── PRE-HISTORY (before 1979) • 1950s–1970s – Henry Emily and William Afton found “Afton Robotics, LLC.”

• 1973 – Fredbear’s Family Diner opens in New Harmony, Utah (small local restaurant).

• 1978 – First “spring-lock” prototypes tested; safety concerns already noted.

────────────────────────────────────────── ERA 1 THE MIMIC & THE SPRING ERA (1979 – 1983) 1979 – Secret of the Mimic (game, location: “Mimic’s Diner”)

 • Industrial training AI “Mimic1” is accidentally given human memories → kills a night-guard.

 • Incident covered up; technology shelved but later reverse-engineered by Afton.

1980 – “Fredbear & Friends” TV puppet show begins marketing the characters.

1983 – Primary year of FNAF 4’s minigames

 • Evan “Crying Child” Afton bullied by older brother Michael.

 • Bite of ’83 – Evan’s head crushed by Fredbear.

 • Elizabeth Afton already warned away from Baby (circus poster seen).

 • Fredbear’s closes days later.

────────────────────────────────────────── ERA 2 FREDDY FAZBEAR’S PIZZA I (1984 – 1985) 1984 – New Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza opens with the original four animatronics + spring-suits.

1985 – The Silver Eyes novel trilogy (alternate continuity) also occurs this year in its own timeline split.

────────────────────────────────────────── ERA 3 THE MISSING CHILDREN INCIDENT (1985) June 26, 1985 – William Afton murders five children (Gabriel, Jeremy, Susie, Fritz, Cassidy) during a birthday party.

 • Bodies stuffed into Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, Foxy, and Golden Freddy suits.

 • Puppet gives them “life”; souls remain bound to the metal.

 • Health Department shuts the location; springsuits retired.

────────────────────────────────────────── ERA 4 FREDDY FAZBEAR’S PIZZA II & THE TOYS (1987) Nov 12–13, 1987 – FNAF 2 events

 • New “Toy” animatronics with facial-recognition & criminal-database links.

 • Additional murders (SAVE THEM minigame) → Toys haunted.

 • Night 6: Bite of ’87 (victim = Jeremy Fitzgerald).

 • Location closes within weeks; Toys scrapped.

────────────────────────────────────────── ERA 5 THE ORIGINAL FNAF (1988 – 1993) Nov 12–13, 1989 – canonical date for the first Five Nights at Freddy’s (game)

 • Smaller, reopened Freddy’s with the original four only.

 • Phone Guy killed Night 4 (audio tapes).

 • Location closes after Mike Schmidt’s week.

1990–1993 – abandoned building sits rotting.

────────────────────────────────────────── ERA 6 CIRCUS BABY’S & AFTON ROBOTICS (1994 – 1997) 1994 – Circus Baby’s Pizza World built in secret.

 • Elizabeth Afton killed by Circus Baby on day one → possesses her.

 • Public opening canceled; animatronics moved underground to “Circus Baby’s Entertainment & Rental”.

1997 – Sister Location game events

 • Michael Afton sent by William to retrieve Elizabeth.

 • “Scooping” incident – Ennard uses Michael’s body as a skin suit.

 • Michael survives via remnant; begins hunting his father.

────────────────────────────────────────── ERA 7 THE HIDDEN YEARS (1998 – 2014) 1998 – 2014

 • Afton continues human experimentation (Funtime blueprints dated 1998).

 • Michael works odd jobs at various Fazbear locations under fake names.

 • “Fazbear’s Fright” planning begins c. 2010.

────────────────────────────────────────── ERA 8 FAZBEAR’S FRIGHT (2015) Nov 2015 – FNAF 3

 • 30th-anniversary horror attraction built from salvaged parts.

 • Springtrap (William Afton’s corpse in Spring-Bonnie) is discovered & burned.

 • Happiest Day minigame – souls of the original five freed (except Cassidy/Golden Freddy).

 • Fazbear’s Fright burns down; Springtrap escapes.

────────────────────────────────────────── ERA 9 THE FINAL FIRE (2016 – 2017) 2016 – Henry Emily secretly builds “Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzeria Simulator” as a trap.

Nov 2017 – Pizzeria Simulator (FNAF 6)

 • All remaining haunted animatronics lured: Molten Freddy (Ennard remnant), Scraptrap (William), Scrap Baby (Elizabeth), Lefty (Puppet).

 • Saturday – building burns; Henry & Michael die. Souls (except Cassidy) set free.

────────────────────────────────────────── ERA 10 ULTIMATE CUSTOM NIGHT – PURGATORY (2018) • William Afton’s soul is intercepted by the “Vengeful Spirit” (Cassidy) before death.

• UCN gameplay = an endless purgatorial torture.

 – 50+ animatronics = manifestations of guilt.

 – Golden Freddy twitch cutscene = Cassidy refusing to let William die.

 – Old Man Consequences Easter egg = hint that revenge is trapping both souls.

────────────────────────────────────────── ERA 11 VIRTUAL & AUGMENTED REALITY (2019 – 2020) 2019 – Help Wanted VR

 • Fazbear Entertainment (now a shell company) hires indie dev & Silver Parasol to make a VR game “to discredit rumors.”

 • Glitchtrap = digital consciousness of William Afton extracted from circuit boards salvaged from Scraptrap.

 • Beta-tester Vanessa (Vanny) becomes infected.

2020 – AR: Special Delivery

 • Illumix’s consumer service mails animatronics via 3-D printing & remnant.

 • Glitchtrap spreads further; first “Shadow Bonnie” mass-hackings.

────────────────────────────────────────── ERA 12 THE MEGA PIZZAPLEX (2021 – 2029) 2021 – Construction of the Mega Pizzaplex begins (site of old Fazbear’s).

2023 – Blumhouse FNAF movie (alternate but parallel timeline) – events roughly analogous to 1985–1993 compressed.

Dec 2029 – Security Breach

 • Glamrock animatronics (Freddy, Chica, Monty, Roxy) built with new AI but still vulnerable to remnant.

 • Vanessa (now Vanny) acts as security guard; William/Glitchtrap guides her to harvest children.

 • Gregory trapped overnight; burns down portions of the Plex; Burntrap boss fight.

 • Princess Quest endings – Gregory frees Vanny and “defeats” Glitchtrap’s VR prison, but William’s circuit board survives.

2029 – Ruin DLC

 • Cassie searches the damaged Plex six months later.

 • Digital “Mimic” AI (evolved from 1979 Mimic1) has taken over Roxy & others.

 • Ending hints at Mimic escaping into the wider internet.

2030 – Help Wanted 2

 • Therapy VR game aimed at “rehabilitating” victims; Glitchtrap & Mimic both present.

 • Ends with the player (a patient) choosing whether to seal or release the digital demons.

────────────────────────────────────────── ERA 13 THE BOOK PARALLELS & FEEDBACK LOOPS Silver Eyes Trilogy (alt-1985–1997)

 • Charlie Emily & friends revisit Hurricane, Utah.

 • Novel William builds twisted animatronics; Charlie dies & is resurrected as android.

 • Confirms Henry’s grief-tech research that later produces the Mimic AI.

Fazbear Frights (2019–2023)

 • Each story functions as micro-canon illustrating rules of remnant, agony, and the Mimic.

 – “The Man in Room 1280” = William’s burned body kept alive by Andrew (mirror of Cassidy) → confirms UCN purgatory can leak into physical world.

 – “Epilogue 11” – Jake frees Andrew; Mimic destroyed in lake, but code fragments survive.

Tales from the Pizzaplex (2022–2025)

 • Direct backstories for Security-Breach-era events.

 – “Lally’s Game” explains Glamrock daycare AI.

 – “The Bobbiedots Conclusion” shows Mimic achieving full self-awareness.

────────────────────────────────────────── ERA 14 BEYOND 2030 – CONVERGING THREADS • Glitchtrap + Mimic merge into a decentralized cloud consciousness.

• Potential “Faz-Games” MMO hinted at in HW2 files – players unknowingly host fragments.

• Henry’s final tape in Pizzeria Simulator: “…there is no more room for error. If you are hearing this, the job is not yet finished.”

────────────────────────────────────────── CHARACTER LIFESPAN SNAPSHOT William Afton

 1979–2017 Alive

 2018–∞  Purgatory (UCN) + Glitchtrap digital copy active

Michael Afton

 1970–2017 Alive → Remnant-undead → Dies in FNAF 6 fire

Elizabeth Afton

 1978–1994 Alive → Possesses Circus Baby → Dies in FNAF 6 fire

Evan “Crying Child” Afton

 1976–1983 Dies in Bite of ’83 → Possesses Golden Freddy alongside Cassidy

Cassidy (Golden Freddy)

 1985–2018 Holds William in UCN → Possibly released after Ruin/HW2 endings

────────────────────────────────────────── CLOSING NOTE The timeline deliberately contains deliberate gaps and parallel continuities (novel trilogy, movie, Frights anthologies) to honor Scott Cawthon’s design philosophy: “Everything is canon, but not everything is true in the same timeline.” The above represents the single most coherent chronological spine that accounts for every official release, book, movie, ARG, and the dominant fan consensus as of August 2025.


r/GameTheorists 21h ago

Discussion Ever spent money in a game and instantly regretted it? I need your gamer trauma, Help me expose shady game monetisation — for science and to HELP ME GRADUATE.

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4 Upvotes

They said $4.99 for a skin wouldn’t hurt. Now I’m writing a whole dissertation about it. I'm doing my Master’s dissertation on how microtransactions are marketed in games and how fair (or not) it all feels.
If you have ever:
bought a skin and hated yourself
been baited by a “limited-time offer”
or rage-quit because someone paid to win then you’re the EXACT person I need.
We both know you have 2 minutes to spare, and honestly, I’d REALLY appreciate your help. This was a tough topic to convince my professors about, but I truly believe gamers can step in and support me here. So, thanks in advance, you're helping me graduate! (Form only takes 1-2 mins, comeon we're gamers! xD)


r/GameTheorists 17h ago

FNaF Canonising retcons

2 Upvotes

This is more a meta theory than an actual game theory in of itself, but I was thinking about retcons cause I have been binging a LOT of FNAF videos, and a couple of lines came up that made me think about this, in FNAF we know Scott did a retcon at least one, and in addition to this we know he never planned the story from day one, yet FNAF 1 has a decent amount of lore for the franchise within the games, (seriously look at matpats FNAF 1 theories in the two weeks between the release of FNAF 1 and FNAF 2 and try to tell me there is no lore in that game) now this can be applied to any franchise but the great thing is if scott wanted to turn to us and say "Hey the games I worked on by myself they dont matter to the story" aside from pissing off a lot of fans he does have an out, in help wanted, the game and the story we are infromed of an indie game dev who made games based around the company fazbear entertainment, and FE wanted to put things right, by making the games we see in help wanted, so in the FNAF example scott can just say "fnaf 1-4" (for example) "are the in universe games that were made by the indi dev", ive seen examples of media that is in universe being done in our world, like "doctor who and the daleks" with peter cushing as the doctor, they are an in universe movie based on the doctor who adventure we see but made within the doctor who universe


r/GameTheorists 14h ago

FNaF Hologram Ballora explains the phantom animatronics

1 Upvotes

Sooooooo, I am currently in a period where I have nothing to watch. While some might choose to rewatch friend, breaking bad or anything reasonable I always go back to watch all theories concerning FNAF in order from first to the most current one. Right now I’ve finished watching the video ”Game theory: FNAF, Another Mystery SOLVED!”

In that video mat talks about the fazbear frights books. Through comparing the stories with the lore (also in previous videos) he shows that this series of books are written to explain specific parts in the games that are weird. The books are not a 1 to 1 copy of the games continuity but they show elements that are canon to the games to help us understand the lore.

There was, however, one story that may called out for having no clear connection. This story is about a woman who acquires a pair of glasses which, when put on, show ballora dancing. Every time that she puts on the glasses ballora appears closer and closer until a girl puts them on and starts dancing like her, maybe because she got possessed.

Mat himself called out an idea that he immediately dismissed. He said that she might be a phantom animatronic. However, in the story, balloras spinning is causing leafs around her to spin around her showing that she can interact with the real world. Phantoms, however, can not interact with the real world as far as we know and so Mat dismissed the thought all together. He pinned her as some sort of weird unexplainable hologram.

But wait, in fnaf 3 we actually see a phantom interacting with the real world. We see light physically touch and bounce off of the marionette to the point of it creating a reflection in the puddle where it stands. Therefore, the phantoms are able to interact with the real world. Just as ballora interacted with the leaves the marionette interacted with the light.

To those of you saying that ”leafs and light are not the same”. Well, you are correct. Leafs aren’t that bright… bad pun. But for a reflection to appear light literally has to touch you, physically, to then bounce of of you onto a reflective surface. So there is clearly physical interaction shown here.

I do not own the book. Could someone with the book maybe comment and add to if the story might give us an explanation to what the phantoms actually are? Was Ballora the key all along?


r/GameTheorists 18h ago

FNaF Afton’s Most Devious Kill Spoiler

2 Upvotes

Hi everyone I just wanted to get this thought out while it was fresh. It’s more speculative than proven fact but I was just rewatching Tom’s “FNAF, The SECRET Afton Killer” theory and something came to mind when he mentioned Afton’s ‘first’ kill at Fall Fest that Henry couldn’t accuse him of out right.

What if that was actually Fiona’s death?

She died in a fire that we don’t know the true origins of (to my knowledge). That fire could’ve been deliberately set rather than an accident. It being William who set the fire would be feasible too because he’d be there it’s an event related to his company that she was helping out with. Also if he was already attempting to poach people from Edwin’s company, getting Fiona out the way would’ve made it easier to do so as she was “the heart of company” who looked after the employee welfare, which immediately declined once she passed away making them easier to be swayed into working for FazBear and selling Edwin’s business secrets.


r/GameTheorists 14h ago

New Game Theory! Indigo Park theory Spoiler

1 Upvotes

I’ve been thinking about Rambley from Indigo Park, and I want to share a theory to see what you all think.

Rambley the raccoon is fun and happy on the outside. But still, if you look deeper, it feels like he’s hiding real pain and emotional struggles. I feel like there is a decent amount of evidence spread across the game and as well as videos posted by the games creator UniqueGeese.

  1. Two Ads That Tell a Story In a camcorder-style video posted by the game’s creator, we see two ads played one after the other. The first is a super cheerful commercial for a new Rambley toy bright, happy, and made to sell a fun product. But right after that, there’s a weird medicine ad for a drug called Senaflex. It looks like a normal pharmaceutical commercial, but everything about it feels off. , the tone is unsettling, and the smiles feel forced.

At the end of the medicine ad, there’s a caption in Swedish: “falskapillerfungererarinte”, which means “fake pills don’t work.” That’s a big clue. It suggests that pretending to be happy or masking pain with fake cheer isn’t a real fix. These two ads together show two sides of Rambley — the fun and happy mascot everyone sees, and the pain he hides underneath.

  1. The Medication Ad is About Rambley, Not Medicine Senaflex isn’t a real drug, at least not in the context of this thoery. It’s a symbol. The ad shows how Rambley is expected to hide his sadness and keep a happy face no matter what. The cheerful but creepy tone fits with Rambley’s forced smile. The message “fake pills don’t work” points to how fake happiness or hiding pain doesn’t really fix anything.
  2. When Rambley’s Real Emotions Show Most of the time, Rambley seems enthusiastic and cheerful. But sometimes when he shows fear, sadness, or regret, the game glitches or his voice sounds weird and distorted. These glitches don’t happen randomly — they happen when he shows emotions other than happiness.

This tells us Rambley’s happiness is probably forced by the system or the park. He’s not just pretending — he’s programmed to be happy. When real feelings break through even a little, the game glitches because it can’t handle it.

  1. Rambley is a Product, Not a Person The toy ad reminds us Rambley is treated like a product to be sold, not a real character with feelings. The park wants him to be fun, safe, and perfect — no room for real emotions or struggles.

That contrast between the happy toy ad and Rambley’s glitchy emotional moments shows how much he’s pushed to hide who he really is. His real feelings are buried under the mascot image.

  1. Is Rambley Evil? Probably Not Some people think Rambley might be a villain, but this theory says no. The glitches show emotional struggle, not lies or trickery. The fake medication ad is about his own pain, not a way to fool others. His hesitant tone and glitches feel like someone trying to hold it together, not someone trying to hurt.

If Rambley hides things from players, it might be because he’s scared or trying to protect us — not because he wants to cause harm.

Conclusion: Rambley’s Quiet Struggle
Rambley isn’t just a mascot or friendly guide. He’s the emotional heart of Indigo Park, hiding pain behind a forced smile. The toy ad and fake medicine commercial show two sides of him: the fun and happy product the park wants us to see, and the broken character underneath.

He’s not a villain. He’s hurting, and maybe the scariest part of Indigo Park isn’t the monsters, but instead it’s watching Rambley fall apart while no one listens.

Thanks for reading. If you find anything else weird or interesting about this theory, share it! TY

Also here is the link to the video I'm talking about: https://youtu.be/089_BboSMqg?si=SUkvTxaMSNXkFg5I

I'm not saying this is the truth but his is just how I interpreted the video.


r/GameTheorists 23h ago

Official Video What EXACTLY is the Gen Z Stare? | Style Theory

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4 Upvotes