A new Five Nights at Freddy's game has leaked, but creator Scott Cawthon says it's okay: 'I was trying to keep it a secret for a bit longer, but now that it's out, that's fine'

Five Nights at Freddy's: Into the Pit trailer still: Springbonnie leaping at the player

(Image credit: Mega Cat Studios)

When a trailer for a new Five Nights at Freddy's game called Into the Pit first surfaced, the Five Nights subreddit immediately clamped down on it, warning that "all discussions of said trailer will be removed until the trailer is officially released." But then Five Nights creator Scott Cawthon jumped in and said it's all good, so now everyone can talk about it without feeling bad.

The new FNAF game is being made by Mega Cat Studios, the developer of pro wrestling adventure Wrestlequest, and it looks to be a different take on the series, with side-scrolling gameplay and a distinctly retro style. But the core elements are clearly visible: Stealth and evasion appear central to survival (generally speaking, people don't roam around inside grotty old air ducts because it's fun) and yes, jump scares remain. The new game is presumably based on Into the Pit, a collection of three short stories that makes up the first volume of the Fazbear Frights series of books.

Since Scott says discussions on the project's leaked trailer don't need to be kept hush-hush anymore... let's talk about it!Here's the trailer for ‘Five Nights at Freddy's: Into The Pit’ by Mega Cat Studios👀(Via: @megacatstudios)#fnaf #fivenightsatfreddys #fazbearfrights… pic.twitter.com/0oaQVuap2jJanuary 24, 2024

"No need to keep it all hush-hush," Cawthon wrote on Reddit shortly after the leak. "It's okay! Yes, I was trying to keep it a secret for a bit longer, but now that it's out, that's fine. This game has been in development for a really long time actually, and I'm really proud of the final product. It will be a 10th anniversary game!"

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Cawthon, who retired from working on the series in 2021 following a controversy over donations he made to conservative political action committees and politicians including Donald Trump, was a whole lot less cool recently about the unintentional release of an official Five Nights at Freddy's game for Roblox that apparently went live after he approved a skin, which developers took as a greenlight to put out the whole game. "[The release] is one of the most baffling, insane, things to ever happen in my ten years of working on FNAF," he said in December 2023.

Other Into the Pit details haven't been released—whether Cawthon is cool with it or not, it's still a leak—but I do like the way it appears to incorporate classic Five Nights scares into an entirely different style of game. The reference to the 10th anniversary could point to an August release date: The original Five Nights at Freddy's launched on August 8, 2014.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.