Five Nights at Freddy's creator, Scott Cawthon, has announced his retirement from public game development, 7 years after Five Nights at Freddy's made its debut in 2014.
In a statement published on his own personal website, Cawthon said that he's had a "blessed, fulfilling, and rich career" that allowed him to "witness the creation of possibly the most creative and talented fanbase on the planet".
Cawthon added that he missed making games for his kids and just doing it for fun. He then clarified that he is now retiring. He thanked his fans, especially the LGBTQ community, saying that the kindness that's been shown to him "has been surreal." What Was The Controversy Behind Cawthon's Retirement? For years, Five Nights at Freddy's was a staple in many Let's Play videos by popular YouTubers.
Cawthon's decision to include the LGBTQ community in the statement on his website comes following the recent controversy surrounding his political donations. In particular, his donations that were given to Republican politicians. Among these were former United States President, Donald Trump.
Information o\n his donations, which totaled more than $42,000, made their way to Twitter and Reddit in June 2021.
Before his retirement, Cawthon would respond to the controversy in a Reddit thread where he hinted at his retirement.