Scott Cawthon has released an official statement announcing that all development on Five Nights at Freddy's 6 has ended. While the latest sequel in the popular horror game franchise was technically never announced, Cawthon confirmed that several teasers he'd posted in recent months were hinting towards Five Nights at Freddy's 6's development. However, Cawthon currently feels like he isn't currently in a place to deliver on expectations and so FNaF 6 is, for the time being, cancelled.
Here's Cawthon's reasoning for ending development on the latest Five Nights at Freddy's:
"With each game's release, I think the expectations get higher and higher for the next, and rightfully so. Each game SHOULD be better than the last! But that pressure starts to mount, and I fear that I've been neglecting other things in my life for the sake of trying to keep up with those mounting expectations.
So, after giving this a lot of thought; I’ve decided that I’m going to stop working on it. I’m not going to reveal anything else about what the game was, and I’ve asked other people involved to never divulge anything either. It’s just not going to be talked about."
It's a difficult way for Scott to break the news, but often telling the cold, hard truth is better than dancing around the subject. Simply put, Cawthon doesn't want to work on Five Nights at Freddy's 6 anymore. The reasons for that are only lightly touched on in Cawthon's post, but assumptions can be drawn. The scope of the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise has grown to a point that Cawthon feels he can't balance his life and meet fans' growing expectations.
The good news is that Cawthon isn't done with the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise and he's not done with game development either. It's just the main series in particular that appears to have grown beyond him. Instead, Cawthon makes clear he'll be working on side projects akin to Foxy Fighters, mentioning a possible pizzeria tycoon game. The key for Cawthon is making development enjoyable again, and he sees creating smaller projects specifically for his fans as that opportunity.
In the mean time, Cawthon notes that those wanting more Five Nights at Freddy's experiences bigger and larger than ever should recall that horror film production house Blumhouse has the movie rights. It's less concrete, but Cawthon has expressed interest in bringing Five Nights at Freddy's to VR at some point in the future.
Cawthon also leaves one final, curious thought regarding the future of the Five Nights at Freddy's main series:
"... as far as the games are concerned, I think this is where I step back."
Could this mark the end of the main Five Nights at Freddy's series as we know it? Or is Scott Cawthon hinting that Five Nights at Freddy's might continue, just not made by Scott himself? Despite the bad news regarding Five Nights at Freddy's 6 no longer being made, the franchise's future continues to be as interesting as ever.
Source: Steam