FNAF Creator Announces Retirement Amid Controversy Over Political Donations

Five Nights at Freddys creator Scott Cawthon has announced that he is retiring from video games to focus on his family, while promising that the series will continue under new leadership. He also backs away from game development amid criticism by some about his political donations to Republicans.

"I've had a blessed, fulfilling, and rich career," Cawthon wrote in an update on his website. "I've been shown great kindness and I've tried to show great kindness in return. I've tried to make some good games (let the debate ensue), and I've witnessed the creation of possibly the most creative and talented fanbase on the planet."

Now that he's in his mid-40s, Cawthon said he has grown eager to return to some of the things in life he was able to pursue before FNAF became such a big success. "I miss making games for my kids, I miss doing it just for fun, and I miss making RPGs even though I stink at it," he said. "All of this to say that I am retiring. I have been shown tremendous love and support over the last week, a lot of which has come from the LGBTQ community. The kindness shown to me has been surreal."

Cawthon also stressed that the FNAF series will continue, though someone else will eventually take over. "Someone of my choosing, and someone that I trust," he said. "We will have to wait and see how it all plays out, but an announcement will be made at some point."

Cawthon now has six children, and he is going to spend his retirement focusing on his family.

"They are my whole world and my whole universe," he said of his children. "I want to focus my attention on them, focus on protecting the, and spend my time making things for them," he said. "I only ask that my fanbase respect my decision. I will still be around, just not in the capacity that I used to be. What a blessed career I've had; what wonderful people I've met; and what a tremendous blessing to have been able to know all of you. Thank you so much."

A FNAF movie is currently in the works at Get Out studio Blumhouse. The latest FNAF game is Security Breach, which is coming to PlayStation later this year.

It was recently discovered that Cawthon donated to a number of Republican lawmakers, while he also gave money to Donald Trump. He responded in a lengthy reply on Reddit, saying he thought Trump was a good candidate to help improve the economy, even if he didn't hold the best positions on other matters, like efforts in the LGBTQ space.

"I supported President Trump, because I felt he was the best man to fuel a strong economy and stand up to America's enemies abroad, of which there are many," Cawthon said. "Even if there were candidates who had better things to say to the LGBT community directly, and bigger promises to make, I believed that their stances on other issues would have ended up doing much greater harm to those communities than good."

He added: "I'm a republican. I'm a Christian. I'm pro-life. I believe in God. I also believe in equality, and in science, and in common sense. Despite what some may say, all of those things can go together. That's not an apology or promise to change, it's the way it's always been.

"If I get cancelled, then I get cancelled. I don't do this for the money anymore; I do it because I enjoy it. If people think I'm doing more harm than good now, then maybe it's better that I get cancelled and retire. I would accept that. I've had a fulfilling career. Besides, most things that people can take from you are things that never had much value to begin with."