Five Nights at Freddy’s creator Scott Cawthon has canceled the next game in the horror series and stepped away from the franchise for the time being.
Writing on the Steam Community forum, Cawthon explained work on his upcoming title, tentatively referred to as Five Nights at Freddy’s 6, has stopped completely after he grew disillusioned with the project.
It’s an interesting example of a developer struggling to strike the right work-life balance, and in this instance Cawthon says it’s important for him to take the pressure of and pursue a relaxing project that’s lighthearted and fun.
“With each [Five Nights at Freddy’s] release, I think the expectations get higher and higher for the next, and rightfully so,” wrote the series creator.
“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.”
Cawthon now hopes to rediscover the joy of game development and spend more time with his family.