'Five Nights At Freddy's: The Silver Eyes' Novel Plot Backlash Addressed By Scott Cawthon

(Photo : Scott Games) "Five Nights At Freddy's: The Silver Eyes" novel was just released, and fans of the game franchise it's based on have taken offense that its plot is wildly different. Author Scott Cawthon has confirmed that both stories exist on alternate timelines. The book is available now.

"Five Nights At Freddy's" creator Scott Cawthon has responded to backlash over the plot of his novel, "Five Nights At Freddy's: The Silver Eyes." His words offer insight into how the book should be approached by fans.

The news comes to Design & Trend via two posts by Cawthon on the Steam forums.

Controversy surfaced shortly after "Five Nights At Freddy's: The Silver Eyes" was released on Thursday. As diehard theorists scoured the book in anticipation that it might solve the game franchise's lingering mysteries, plot inconsistencies gradually became apparent. Without spoiling too much, events that players knew to be true in the "Five Nights At Freddy's" virtual timeline unfolded differently in the novel. This prompted a pressing question: does "Five Nights At Freddy's: The Silver Eyes" have anything to do with the games at all?

The short answer is yes and no. As the fan freakout commenced, Scott shared his thoughts on the matter. "The book is not intended to solve anything," he cautioned. "The games and the books should be considered separate continuities, even if they do share many familiar elements. So yes, the book is canon, just as the games are. That doesn't mean that they are intended to fit together like two puzzle pieces."

In an attempt to not read too much into things, our interpretation is that the "Five Nights At Freddy's" games and book are both canon in that they originate from the same basic idea. However, the book eventually becomes its own dedicated timeline. There's the implication that, should more "Five Nights At Freddy's" novels be released, they will follow along the established narrative of this printed story. The games, on the other hand, will stay in their own messy universe. The phrase "alternate universe" is a mostly accurate description.

Given how the two versions of the story, split, Scott also offered advice for prospective readers on how any plot inconsistencies should be handled. "Read the book for the sake of enjoying the book, and don't try to 'solve' anything. If you go into it with that mindset, I think you will really enjoy it."

With all that said, it probably didn't help that the novel was originally marketed as "Five Nights At Freddy's: The Untold Story." While that name seems to imply a reveal of something hidden, the reality is, the book is basically new.

As for the still-murky game timeline, "that story is finished," he concluded.

"Five Nights At Freddy's: The Silver Eyes" is available now in Kindle and paperback.

What did you think of the novel? Are you OK with having a separate book and game timeline for "Five Nights At Freddy's?" Let us know in the poll and comments section!