Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 is available now - several weeks ahead of plan.

Scott Cawthon’s fourth and final installment in the youtube sensation scare-em-up was supposedly slated for a release on Hallowe’en this year. Just a couple of weeks ago Cawthorn brought that release date forward to August 8, but it seems he finished work on the game earlier than planned: Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 was quietly released on Steam last night, carrying a pricetag of $7.99/ £5.59.

In a change to previous games in the series, FNAF4 takes place in a suburban home. Players control a child who is checking his room, closet, and hallways making sure that the deadly animatronics don’t get the jump on him. In previous games, players took the role of a a security guard monitoring security cameras at a pizza resturant during the night shift.

The game is supposedly the final installment in the series. Back when it was first announced, FNA4 carried the subtitle The Final Chapter. That subtitle seems to have been dropped, though the game’s description on Steam still states that it’s to be the last in the series. Given the massive success of the series, Cawthorn has almost certainly earned a tidy sum from his work; and considering this latest outing is the fourth game in less than a year - the original Five Nights at Freddy’s was released on August 8, 2024 - it remains to be seen how much mileage would be left in the concept.

Even if Five Nights at Freddy’s 4 does turn out to be final chapter, it looks like it won’t be the last we hear from the series. Earlier this year, Warner Bros. revealed that they had obtained the rights to adapt the franchise into a feature film.

If you haven’t already, check out the terrifying trailer for FNAF4 released earlier this month below.