Five Nights at Freddy's creator says he won't open "the box"

Five Nights at Freddy's creator Scott Cawthon says the new FNAF 4 content release on Halloween will be an update, not DLC, that will add a cheat menu, a challenge menu, and "a twist on a familiar minigame that provides a boost when playing challenge modes." One thing it will not do, however, is open the box.

Cawthon said on Steam that he was amazed at how quickly players figured out the lore and story of the original Five Nights at Freddy's, and then again in the second. "Then part 3 came out, and once again the story was uncovered by the community," he wrote. "It seemed that there was nothing I could hide!"

With part four, however, you guys have apparently dropped the ball. The aforementioned box, as explained by Design & Trend, was discovered at the end of the seventh night in Five Nights 4, but nobody has been able to figure out how to open it.

"No one, not a single person, found the pieces. The story remains completely hidden. I guess most people assumed that I filled the game with random easter eggs this time. I didn't," he continued. "What's in the box? It's the pieces put together. But the bigger question is—would the community accept it that way? The fact that the pieces have remained elusive this time strikes me as incredible, and special, a fitting conclusion in some ways, and because of that, I've decided that maybe some things are best left forgotten, forever."

His message has so far attracted 55 pages of responses, and not all of them are especially appreciative of Cawthon's creative approach. Many are demanding that he reveal the secret, and at least one user said he wishes he could get a refund on all the Five Nights games he's purchased. Of course, it's possible that Cawthon is just messing with people, or it could tie in with his plans for a new game—not Five Nights 5—that he plans to show off this Halloween. But if he's sincere, and committed to his vision, then that's that: Either you figure it out, or it stays unfigured.

Thanks, Kotaku.

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.